Caterpillar Q2 Revenue Falls 16 Percent Year over Year

July 25, 2013
Caterpillar Inc. this week announced second-quarter 2013 sales and revenues were $14.62 billion, down 16 percent from $17.37 billion in the second quarter of 2012.  Profit was $960 million in the second quarter of 2013, down 43 percent from $1.70 billion in the second quarter of 2012. Profit per share of $1.45 declined 43 percent from second-quarter 2012 profit per share of $2.54. 

Caterpillar Inc. this week announced second-quarter 2013 sales and revenues were $14.62 billion, down 16 percent from $17.37 billion in the second quarter of 2012.  Profit was $960 million in the second quarter of 2013, down 43 percent from $1.7 billion in the second quarter of 2012. Profit per share of $1.45 declined 43 percent from second-quarter 2012 profit per share of $2.54. 

"Even though our sales and profit in the second quarter are down from last year, I'm pleased with how our team has performed,” said Caterpillar chairman and CEO Doug Oberhelman. “We've taken action to respond to the economic environment we find ourselves in, and operationally, the team has done a great job. We experienced headwinds during the quarter, and while we had a positive $135 million gain related to the Siwei settlement, it was more than offset by currency translation and hedging losses, an additional $1 billion of dealer machine inventory reductions and a decline of $1.2 billion in our own inventory. While these were significantly negative to profit in the second quarter, our outlook doesn't reflect additional currency losses or reductions in our inventory during the second half of 2013. As a result, we expect profit to improve in the second half of the year.

"The $1 billion reduction in dealer machine inventory was more than we previously expected and was negative to our sales and profit in the quarter. While dealer machine inventory is low by historic standards, dealers are utilizing inventory from our product distribution centers and are positioned to reduce inventory even further. As a result, we expect dealer machine inventory to decline about $1.5 to $2 billion in the second half of 2013 and end the year about $3.5 billion lower than year-end 2012. That means that we are underselling end-user demand this year, and it sets us up for better sales in 2014."

The company revised its outlook for 2013 to reflect sales and revenues in a range of $56 to $58 billion, with profit per share of about $6.50 at the middle of the sales and revenues outlook range. The previous outlook for 2013 sales and revenues was a range of $57 to $61 billion, with profit per share of about $7.00 at the middle of the sales and revenues outlook range.

"Overall end-user demand is similar to our previous outlook, but we now expect a more significant reduction in dealer machine inventory,” Oberhelman explained. “That's the main reason for the reduction in the sales and revenues outlook.  During the second quarter, dealers increased their utilization of inventory from our product distribution centers, which allows them to meet customer demand with less inventory. With the sharp reduction in dealer inventory and the decline in mining, 2013 is turning out to be a tough year and we've already taken action to reduce costs. During the first half of the year, we've had temporary factory shutdowns, rolling layoffs throughout much of the company, reductions in our flexible workforce, and we've reduced discretionary and program costs. While we've taken significant action already, we will be taking additional cost reduction measures in the second half of 2013.”

Caterpillar is headquartered in Peoria, Ill.