Big earnings for Caterpillar and new CEO

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PEORIA (AP) – Caterpillar’s second-quarter earnings shot up 91 percent with the heavy machinery manufacturer reporting robust sales of equipment for industries that range from mining and infrastructure to energy.

The company boosted its 2010 profit outlook as well Thursday, saying it is trying to keep up with new orders and will ramp up production of its signature black-and-yellow equipment in the second half of the year.

The earnings report is the first since Woodstock High School graduate Doug Oberhelman officially took the reins as chief executive officer. He noted “significant economic concerns” that remain globally, but he remained optimistic.

“We continue to be positive about the longer-term prospects for many of the industries we serve,” he said.

Asian sales grew by 62 percent to $1.7 billion. Caterpillar said overall sales of machinery were helped by low interest rates and higher metal prices that spurred mining activity, and a brighter global economic picture.

The North American market, Caterpillar’s biggest, saw sales rise 43 percent. The company said the growth was driven by an improvement in home construction, a modest increase in federal spending for highways, and better prices in sectors like metals, coal and lumber.

Although sales are up, Caterpillar has not brought back most of the 19,000 full-time and 18,000 contract and part-time workers it was forced to shed during the recession. Caterpillar added about 3,650 new workers by the end of the second quarter to push its total employment to about 97,500. A third of those jobs were outside the United States.

Caterpillar has posted two strong quarters this year after seeing profits tumble drastically in 2009, and the company’s outlook cheered investors Thursday.

Caterpillar reported second-quarter profits of $707 million, or $1.09 a share. That is from $371 million, or 60 cents a share of profit a year ago.

Sales rose 31 percent to $10.4 billion, with Caterpillar reporting gains in machinery sales in all four global regions it serves. That easily topped Wall Street expectations of 85 cents a share of earnings on revenue of $9.8 billion.

For all of 2010, Caterpillar expects to earn between $3.15 to $3.85 a share, up from a previous forecast of $2.50 to $3.25 a share.