Finning Inc., the world’s largest Caterpillar dealer, posted fourth quarter revenue of $1.491 billion, compared to $1.537 billion in the fourth quarter of 2015, a 3-percent decline. Fourth quarter revenue increased 12 percent compared to the third quarter, driven by higher new equipment sales in Canada and South America, and stronger product support in Canada. Rental revenues slid 24 percent in Canada in the fourth quarter compared to the year-ago quarter.
“Our fourth quarter results provide a solid end to a year marked by continued progress towards re-shaping Finning into a stronger, more agile company,” said Scott Thomson, president and CEO of Finning International. “We enter 2017 with a significantly reduced cost structure, optimized facility footprint, efficient parts supply chain, and improved service profitability. Our resilient business model and capital discipline have enabled us to generate strong free-cash flow, which has contributed to strengthening our financial position despite challenging market conditions.”
Thomson said the company expects a modest increase in product support to be offset by ongoing weakness in equipment demand because of uncertain market conditions in the company’s territories.
“Going forward, we have clear plans in place to build on the significant operational improvements made with continued focus on safety and people,” Thomson added. “We will also increase our emphasis on leveraging technology to improve performance and deliver greater customer value.”
Based in Vancouver, B.C., Canada, Finning operates in Western Canada, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, the United Kingdom and Ireland.
About the Author
Michael Roth
Editor
Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.