Caterpillar Tractor Posts Turnaround in 1st Quarter

Caterpillar Tractor, benefiting from the dollar’s recent decline, said it earned $111 million in the first quarter, against a $70-million year-earlier loss. The result was the company’s best first-quarter showing in five years.

“That’s definitely an improvement, but it’s nowhere near the level it should be or the level achieved prior to 1982,” Caterpillar Treasurer Len Kuchan said of the latest results.

The leading maker of earthmoving and construction equipment said its first-quarter revenue rose to $1.74 billion from $1.48 billion in 1985.

The last time Caterpillar posted higher net income for the first quarter was in 1981, when it earned $142 million.

Caterpillar’s latest results benefited from higher sales, inventory reductions, lower costs and improved pricing that reflected the U.S. dollar’s decline against several foreign currencies--especially the Japanese yen, Kuchan said.