DEERFIELD, Ill. -- Caterpillar Inc. on Thursday reported a loss of US$1.3 billion in its fourth quarter, driven down by a hefty charge related to tax reform.
On a per-share basis, the Deerfield, Illinois-based company said it had a loss of US$2.18. Results in the latest quarter include a tax-related charge of US$2.4 billion, or US$3.91 per share. Excluding that, restructuring costs and other items, Caterpillar earned US$2.16 per share, topping the average estimate of US$1.77 per share, according to Zacks Investment Research.
The construction equipment company posted revenue growth of 35 per cent to US$12.9 billion, also beating Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected US$12.01 billion.
"After four challenging years, many key markets improved in 2017, and our global team delivered strong results," CEO Jim Umpleby said in a statement. "We remained focused on operational excellence and made early investments in profitable growth initiatives as we began to implement our new strategy."
For the full year, the company earned US$754 million, or US$1.26 per share, on revenue of US$45.46 billion. Adjusted earnings per share for 2017 totalled US$6.88.
Looking ahead, Caterpillar expects 2018 adjusted earnings in the range of US$8.25 to US$9.25 per share. That tops the average FactSet estimate of US$8.15 per share.
Caterpillar shares added 4 cents to US$168.38 in afternoon trading.
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