Caterpillar sales and revenue nearly even year to year for first quarter of 2024
The construction market is showing signs of cooling in 2024, and Caterpillar has reported financials to match - the company reports revenues roughly flat to the first quarter of 2023, thanks to lower sales volumes.
Caterpillar reported total sales and revenues in the first quarter of 2024 at $15.8 billion, compared to $15.9 billion in the first three months of 2023. Some low sales volume effect was offset by favourable price realization.
Operating profit was 22.3 percent for the quarter ending March 31, 2024, compared with 17.2 percent in the same quarter of 2023. Adjusted operating profit margin was 22.2 percent for Q1 of 2024, compared with 21.1 percent the previous year, and adjusted profit per share reached a record $5.60, up from $4.91.
"I'm pleased with our team's performance that resulted in higher adjusted operating profit margin, record adjusted profit per share and strong ME&T free cash flow. Our strong balance sheet and ME&T free cash flow allowed us to deploy a record $5.1 billion of cash for share repurchases and dividends in the first quarter," said Chairman and CEO Jim Umpleby. "We continue to execute our strategy for long-term profitable growth."
Total sales in the Construction Industries segment was $6.424 billion, a decrease of 5 percent from the previous year when profit was $6.746 billion. North American sales rose due to favourable price realization, while sales in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East (EAME) were down due to lower sales volume. Resource Industries had total sales of $3.193 billion, down 7 percent.
