Investing.com – Deere & Company (DE), the Illinois based agriculture and construction equipment manufacturer, released earnings Wednesday morning.
Deere finished the fourth quarter and 2011 financial year with record earnings and revenues.
The company’s fourth quarter earnings and revenues were USD670 million and USD8.612 billion respectively. For the year, earnings and revenues were also impressive, coming in at USD2.8 billion and USD32.0 billion respectively.
For the same period last year earnings were USD457.2 million and revenues were USD7.2 billion.
The company said that equipment sales were up 20% in the quarter and added that it expects farmers to have another good year in 2012 because the demand for agricultural commodities remains strong.
"John Deere has completed another year of exceptional achievement," said Samuel R. Allen, chairman and chief executive officer. "Our success reflects a continued pattern of strong customer response to our innovative lines of equipment coupled with the skillful execution of business plans aimed at expanding our global competitive position."
The company is working on opening six new factories in China, India and Brazil, to meet expected growth. Deere forecasts its growth from the first quarter of 2011 to the start of 2012 to be between 16 and 18%.
Allen also credited the company’s strategy of efficiency and cost cutting with the financial results and cash flow. The income from the extra efficiency and cost cutting often goes to shareholders in the forms of dividends and share repurchases.
Deere bought 20.8 million shares for a total price of USD1.07 billion, the most it spent in any year since 2008. 58% of cash flow from operations went into dividends and share repurchases.
Companies often buy back shares from the public for a number of reasons. Most prevalent are to increase the value of each outstanding share or because the management feels the company is severely underpriced. In cases of under-pricing, shares are often resold when management feels their prices better represent the company’s value.
Following the earnings report, shares climbed USD4.24, or 5.9%, to USD76.16 in premarket trading.
Deere finished the fourth quarter and 2011 financial year with record earnings and revenues.
The company’s fourth quarter earnings and revenues were USD670 million and USD8.612 billion respectively. For the year, earnings and revenues were also impressive, coming in at USD2.8 billion and USD32.0 billion respectively.
For the same period last year earnings were USD457.2 million and revenues were USD7.2 billion.
The company said that equipment sales were up 20% in the quarter and added that it expects farmers to have another good year in 2012 because the demand for agricultural commodities remains strong.
"John Deere has completed another year of exceptional achievement," said Samuel R. Allen, chairman and chief executive officer. "Our success reflects a continued pattern of strong customer response to our innovative lines of equipment coupled with the skillful execution of business plans aimed at expanding our global competitive position."
The company is working on opening six new factories in China, India and Brazil, to meet expected growth. Deere forecasts its growth from the first quarter of 2011 to the start of 2012 to be between 16 and 18%.
Allen also credited the company’s strategy of efficiency and cost cutting with the financial results and cash flow. The income from the extra efficiency and cost cutting often goes to shareholders in the forms of dividends and share repurchases.
Deere bought 20.8 million shares for a total price of USD1.07 billion, the most it spent in any year since 2008. 58% of cash flow from operations went into dividends and share repurchases.
Companies often buy back shares from the public for a number of reasons. Most prevalent are to increase the value of each outstanding share or because the management feels the company is severely underpriced. In cases of under-pricing, shares are often resold when management feels their prices better represent the company’s value.
Following the earnings report, shares climbed USD4.24, or 5.9%, to USD76.16 in premarket trading.