Caterpillar warns on fourth-quarter profits

16 December 1998

Caterpillar warns on fourth-quarter profits

CATERPILLAR, the worlds largest manufacturer of earth moving equipment, has warned that fourth-quarter profits would fall below expectations.

Markets had pencilled in profits of $1.06 a share, but the company said it expected profit per share to be “moderately less” than the 92 cents a share reported in the July-September period.

Caterpillar said its domestic market had been adversely affected by “continuing high sales discounts” and “a relatively unfavourable product sales mix”.

The group also said it had been hit by a tax adjustment at its Shin Caterpillar Mitsubishi unit and the recent settlement with the Environment Protection Agency.

Caterpillar, alongside six other diesel truckmakers, settled charges that their products had violated clean air standards.

It was forced to pay fines as well as invest in kit to improve emissions quality in the future.