Caterpillar told analysts that its adjusted operating profit and adjusted profit per share set records for its second quarter, despite sales declines compared to the same period a year ago. The adjustment covers losses on the divestiture of two “non-U.S. entities,” leaving operating profit at $3.7 billion and profit per share at $5.99 for the quarter. Both were stronger than expected. Caterpillar said operating profit margin of 20.9% offset the decline in second-quarter sales.
Q2 sales were $16.7 billion, down 4% from $17.2 billion in the same period a year ago. The $629 million decrease reflects $1.2 billion less sales partially offset by price increases. The sales drop was due to reduction in dealer inventory, said Andrew Bonfield, CFO. Bonfield said despite the “challenging comparison” to a strong Q2 2023, it expects operating profit to be higher than expected for the full year. He said Q2 2024 sales were “slightly disappointing.”
Construction segment sales were $6.7 billion, down 7% from the $7.2 billion reported in Q2 2023. The decrease was primarily due to lower sales volume of $588 million, partially offset by price increases of $178 million. The decrease in volume resulted from flat dealer inventory, according to Caterpillar. Sales in North America were flat at $4.0 billion. Lower sales volume to end users was offset by price increases.
Construction segment machine sales for the quarter were down 3% compared to Q2 2023, based on unit sales data reported by its dealers. Sales were up 4% in Latin America, and down 5% for the world.
