Deere Releases Fourth Quarter Earnings

Deere released its fourth quarter earnings report in November.

The company’s agriculture and turf sales rose 3 percent for the quarter and 15 percent for the year due to higher shipment volumes and price realization. The full-year results also benefited from lower warranty claims.

“John Deere has concluded another solid year in which the company benefited from a further improvement in market conditions and a favorable customer response to its lineup of advanced products,” said Chairman and CEO Samuel Allen. “In the fourth quarter, farm machinery sales in the Americas made further gains while construction equipment sales continued to move higher, helped in part by our Wirtgen road-building business, whose financial contribution has exceeded our original forecasts.”

Allen added the company is dealing with continued cost pressures for raw materials such as steel through “price actions and ongoing cost management.”

Analysts characterized the report as “missing on both revenue and earnings estimates” and said robust sales in construction equipment offset weaker-than-expected results in agriculture.

Sources: Trefis and Ag Equipment Intelligence