Re: Anyone know Kubota\'a KCC next finance promotion ?
Wonder how much Kubota wants to follow JD?
“AP
Deere Posts 3Q Earnings Drop; Shares Fall
Tuesday August 16, 5:24 pm ET
By Jan Dennis, Associated Press Writer
Deere Posts Decline in Third-Quarter Profit As Dry Weather Weighs on Sales; Shares Fall
PEORIA, Ill. (AP) -- Shares in Moline-based Deere & Co. tumbled Tuesday after the equipment maker reported withered third-quarter profits due to dry weather that has gripped parts of the nation and curbed demand for the company's trademark green-and-yellow products.
Deere shares closed down $8.06, or 11.1 percent, to $64.75 Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange. The company posted profits that dipped 3 1/2 percent from last year and issued weaker fourth-quarter and full-year earnings forecasts. The stock has been trading in a 52-week range of $56.72 to $74.73.
The maker of John Deere tractors and other heavy machinery reported profits slid to $387.1 million for the quarter that ended July 31, down from $401.4 million during the same period last year. Per-share earnings matched last year's at $1.58 but fell short of the $1.90 per share analysts polled by Thomson Financial had been expecting.
Deere said farm equipment sales stalled amid a drought stretching from the Great Lakes to Texas that the U.S. Agriculture Department estimates could trim corn production by 12 percent and soybeans by 11 percent this fall.
Analysts agreed but questioned whether the weather-related downturn could be offset by a $284.4 billion transportation bill President Bush signed last week.
"While drought conditions here and in Latin America will hamper Deere's agricultural segment, the recently passed federal highway bill should boost the company's growing construction equipment business," Morningstar analyst Scott Burns said in a memo to investors.
Agricultural equipment sales rose 9 percent for the quarter, down sharply from a 34 percent increase during the same period last year, when a global economic upturn fueled a buying surge. The company predicted farm equipment sales would be up 8 percent for the year, down from earlier estimates of 9 to 11 percent.
Dealers say the drought has slowed machinery sales in hard-hit Illinois, where farmers are bracing for corn and soybean harvests expected to yield at least 25 percent less than last year.
"We've gone from a very active spring and early summer to basically not much activity at all," said John Kelly, an owner of three central Illinois dealerships.
Dry weather also hampered sales of Deere's lawn-care equipment, which were down 3 percent in the third quarter. Consumer equipment sales are now expected to dip 5 percent for the year, compared with a 3 percent increase in earlier estimates.
The worst drought since 1988 has driven down lawn equipment sales 35 percent at his four central Illinois locations, Deere dealer Mark Kleine said.
"We've got people who haven't mowed grass for a month and a half," Kleine said.
Revenue rose 11 percent to $6.01 billion for the quarter, up from $5.42 billion a year ago. The company said price increases and overseas currency translations helped boost revenues.
Deere predicted full-year profits of about $1.4 billion, matching last year's record earnings but short of earlier estimates of $1.5 billion to $1.6 billion.
The company expects fourth-quarter sales will decline about 9 percent, with a 23 percent production decrease to better align inventory with demand. Chairman and CEO Robert W. Lane said reducing inventory also will set the stage for new tractors and other equipment that will be launched in 2006.
"We're confident these advanced products will enhance our market leadership and deliver even more value and productivity to our growing global consumer base," Lane said in a statement.
Along with farm and construction equipment, the company makes consumer products that include mowers, chain saws and snow blowers.