30.01.2005

Caterpillar reaches $ 30 billion

Caterpillar Inc .has reported record 2004 revenues of over $30 billion, up from $23 billion last year and record profits of over $two billion an increase of 85 percent compared to 2003. The company also reported a record fourth quarter with sales of $8.57 billion and a profit of $551 million, up 58 percent from last year’s fourth quarter.

“Without question, 2004 was one of the most remarkable years in our proud history. In 1997, with revenues less than $19 billion, we set the goal of becoming a $30 billion company by the middle of this decade. While many thought it was overly ambitious, today we’re able to celebrate that tremendous accomplishment ahead of schedule,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jim Owens.

“We owe thanks for these record results to everyone who makes up Team Caterpillar – our employees, dealers and suppliers. Throughout the year, the team effectively responded to an unprecedented recovery in nearly every market we serve and enhanced our long-term strategic position by meeting record customer demand and building substantial field population.”

“While we remain committed to satisfying our customers, we’re disappointed with our cost structure, particularly steel related costs and supply chain inefficiencies due to lack of material availability. That, coupled with a record order backlog which delayed price realization, caused incremental margins to lag in 2004.” Continued Owens.

Outlook for 2005

“While global economic growth is expected to slow slightly compared to last year, indicators suggest our markets will continue to experience solid growth resulting in another all-time record year,” Owens said. “We expect 2005 sales to be up 12 to 15 percent and profit per share to be up about 25 percent from 2004. The year will benefit from improved price realization, increased volume, manufacturing efficiencies and an intensified focus on our cost structure. We expect material cost pressures to continue for the first half of 2005, with some relief in the last six months. As a result, we expect the last half of 2005 to be stronger than the first half.”


Caterpillar is both a leading producer of telescopic handlers and rapidly becoming the world's largest rental company through its CAT Rental stores.

It is already by far the largest rental franchise in Europe thanks to Hewden Stuart Plc in the UK, Cramo in Scandinavia and Holland and Zeppelin/MVS in Germany to name only a few.

The total powered access fleet operated by Caterpillar affiliates in Europe is some where in the region of 7,500 to 8,000 units, placing it in second place behind Lavendon.