Growth for Caterpillar

Caterpillar’s fourth quarter results saw an increase in sales and revenue of 11% to US$14.3 billion compared to US$12.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2017, according to the company. However, sales decreased 4% in the Asia-Pacific region due to falling demand in China.

Full-year sales and revenues in 2018 were US$54.7 billion, up 20% from US$45.5 billion in 2017.

Revenue in the Construction Industries sector was up 8% year-on-year to US$5.7 billion, forming nearly 40% of the company’s net revenue.

This is an increase from US$5.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2017 – Caterpillar attributed the rise to higher sales volume for construction equipment.

In terms of sales by geographical regions for the firm’s construction industries, the Asia-Pacific region declined by 4%, due to a fall in demand in China. Caterpillar has seen strong growth in China for the last two years, so the decline comes from a high level, but the firm predicted flat sales in China for 2019.

Sales in North America increased 17% to US$2.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2018 compared to US$2.3 billion in the same quarter of 2017.

The EAME region (Europe, Africa and the Middle East) saw sales increase 9%. Infrastructure, road and non-residential building construction activities were said to be behind higher demand in Europe, which partially offset weakness in the Middle East.

The Latin American region continued to struggle, with sales down 5%.