Caterpillar expects 2008 sales and revenues to increase by 10 percent 
(13/03/2008)
Caterpillar Chairman and CEO Jim Owens outlined positive long-term growth expectations for the company during a presentation to financial analysts and institutional stockholders at CONEXPO/CON-AGG 2008.
"There are significant new infrastructure growth opportunities in the world's emerging markets and a need for infrastructure reinvestment in North America and Europe. Over the next decade, that should translate into increased sales of Caterpillar machinery, engines and related services," Owens said. "In addition, most emerging-market economies are in good shape, with relatively low inflation and interest rates and strong balance sheets. They have a need to invest in infrastructure, and they have the resources to do it."
To position Caterpillar to capitalize on these global growth opportunities, Owens discussed the company's planned investments in research and development (R&D) and increasing capital expenditures to add capacity.
"We continue to increase capacity and plan to invest about $2.3 billion in capital expenditures this year," said Owens. "We'll also be deploying significant resources in the area of R&D for new products, to meet global emissions standards, to support the growth needs of our customers and to ensure our global leadership position."
Additional highlights from Owens' presentation included:
* Sales and revenues approaching $60 billion by 2010
* Profit per share growth in the range of 15 to 20 percent from a 2005 base through 2012
* 2008 sales and revenues outlook maintained at up 5 to 10 percent
* 2008 profit per share outlook maintained at up 5 to 15 percent
* A broader emphasis on emerging markets as a critical success factor in Caterpillar's enterprise strategy
Owens also updated analysts on the continued deployment of the Caterpillar Production System (CPS), which with 6 Sigma is improving manufacturing efficiencies in Caterpillar's global operations.
"CPS is already driving great improvements in safety and across the board improvements in our early hour machine reliability," Owens added. "Going forward, we expect CPS-related improvements in velocity and manufacturing costs. No company is better positioned to compete in today's global economy than Caterpillar, and by delivering on our strategy, we will reward our customers, our employees and, of course, our stockholders."
Related categories: Construction companies
