Caterpillar 1Q beats forecasts as revenue grows 5%

DEERFIELD, Ill. (AP) – Increased demand for construction equipment in North America helped push Caterpillar's revenue 5% higher and the company made forecasts.

Newbuilding sales in North America jumped 13% in the first quarter, driven mainly by road construction projects, Caterpillar said Wednesday.

Construction sales fall in Latin America, Asia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East may have investors worried as stocks fell in the morning trade.

Caterpillar, based in Deerfield, Illinois, reported net revenues in the first quarter, up 13% to $ 1.88 billion, or $ 3.25 per share, from the 2018 quarter. A US tax reform benefit was worth $ 178 million, or 31 cents per share. Revenue adjusted for one-time items came to $ 2.94 per share.

The results hit Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 10 analysts examined by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $ 2.84 per share.

The construction company said total revenues rose to $ 13.47 billion from $ 12.86 billion, and also hit street forecasts. Analysts expected $ 13.4 billion. Caterpillar said the revenue increase was partly offset by unfavorable currency effects due to the stronger dollar.

Referring to the tax benefit, the company increased its full-year view to between $ 12.06 and $ 13.06 per share from a range of $ 11.75 to $ 12.75 per share. Analysts examined the FactSet forecast of $ 12.16 per share in annual profits.

"The company continues to have confidence in the fundamentals of its various end markets, and expectations for 2019 performance are unchanged," Caterpillar said in a statement.

In the morning, Caterpillar shares were down 2.8% to $ 138.03.

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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks inventory report at CAT at https://www.zacks.com/ap/CAT