Caterpillar Q1 sales drop, provides no FY guidance

Machinery giant Caterpillar posted a 21% drop in sales during the first quarter as the Covid-19 outbreak hurt demand in both the construction and mining sectors.

Caterpillar posted first-quarter revenues of $10.6bn on Tuesday, down from the $13.5bn reported a year earlier, driven by "lower end-user demand" and changes in dealer inventories.

The Illinois-based group revealed adjusted earnings per share of $1.60 in the first quarter, a marked decline from the $3.25 profit per share posted a year earlier and short of estimates of $1.69 for earnings and $10.91bn for revenues.

Chief executive Jim Umpleby said: "We have taken decisive actions to enhance our strong financial position, while continuing to execute our strategy for profitable growth.

"Caterpillar has faced and overcome many challenges in our 95-year history. Our goal is to emerge from the pandemic an even stronger company."

Caterpillar also said roughly 75% of its primary production facilities continued to operate amid the outbreak and noted that some of its facilities that temporarily closed had now reopened.

The trade bellwether, which did not provide a 2020 financial outlook due to the pandemic, also said it would be withholding annual salary increases and bonuses for much of its staff in order to conserve cash.

As of 1345 BST, Caterpillar shares were up 0.95% in pre-market trading at $116.28 per share.