Caterpillar: First-quarter financials take hit

Caterpillar on Thursday warned Thursday that the tepid global economy, shrinking commodity prices and slumping energy prices will ding the company's first-quarter performance.

The farm and construction equipment manufacturer said its first-quarter revenue would hit a range of $9.3 billion to $9.4 billion with earnings per share of 50 to 55 cents.

Those figures would fall short of S&P Global Market Intelligence expectations of $10.1 billion in revenue and 94 cents per share.

But the company said it "remained comfortable" with its full-year projections of $42 billion in revenue, representing a decline of about 10% for the year, and $3.50 per share.

The forecast, delivered at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Industrials Conference, comes as Caterpillar is facing several challenges in the marketplace.

Its customers are purchasing less equipment as farmers face declining commodity prices and energy companies face lower oil and gas prices. Meanwhile, a tepid economic outlook in China and Brazil has been a setback, too.

"We don’t control the environment," Caterpillar said in a PowerPoint presentation prepared for the conference. "We’re focused on execution."

Follow Paste BN reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey.