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Caterpillar beats forecasts
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October 17, 2000: 10:38 a.m. ET
Equipment maker confirms full year sales outlook; beats lowered 3Q target
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Heavy equipment maker Caterpillar Inc. plowed past lowered earnings forecasts to post an unexpected rise in third-quarter earnings per share Tuesday.
The Peoria, Ill.-based company earned $216 million, or 62 cents a share, in the quarter, topping the 58-cent-per-share forecast of analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call. But analysts had been looking for a 68-cent-per-share profit before a warning from the company Sept. 29.
 Profits fell from $219 million a year earlier but earnings per share rose from 61 cents due to the company's share repurchase program that reduced the number of shares outstanding by 13.6 million during the last 12 months.
The company again blamed a strong dollar, increased expenses and higher research and development costs for the drop in profits. Sales edged up to $4.8 billion in the period from $4.7 billion a year earlier.
"The third quarter was a challenging one, especially considering the continued strength of the dollar and softness in key markets," said Glen Barton, the company's chairman and chief executive.
The company saw much greater percentage growth in financial products, where revenue rose to $386 million from $326 million a year earlier. Sales of machinery and equipment edged up $30 million to $4.5 billion. The increased equipment sales came in North America, which accounted for just less than half of sales, as other regions of the world saw sales fall due to the strong dollar that either made the products more expensive or cut the revenue the company received on sales based in other currencies, primarily the euro.
The company said its sales forecasts for the full year is unchanged, and said that a slight increase in sales and profits are expected next year. Analysts forecast the company should earn 68 cents a share in the fourth quarter, up from 67 cents a year earlier, while 2001 earnings are forecast to rise to $3.45 a share from $2.88 a share forecast for this year. The company's stock has been plagued by a series of earnings warnings.
Shares of Caterpillar (CAT: Research, Estimates), a component of the Dow Jones industrial average, fell 63 cents to $31.13 in trading Tuesday. 
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Caterpillar
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