Farm and construction equipment maker Deere & Company (NYSE: DE) reported an increase in fourth-quarter profit. However, the company’s results missed Street estimates, sending shares down sharply in early trading today.
DE shares opened at $83.13 today and fell to an intra-day low of $82.13. At last check, the stock was down 4.34% to $82.26.
DE reported fourth-quarter net income of $687.6 million, or $1.75 per share, representing an increase of 2.7% over the same period in the previous year. The company’s revenue for the quarter rose 14% to $9.79 billion. Analysts were expecting the company to report fourth-quarter earnings of $1.88 per share.
DE’s revenue benefited from a 4% increase in prices. The company’s equipment sales for the quarter rose to $9.05 billion, beating Street estimates of $8.93 billion. DE’s sales in the U.S. and Canada rose 26% in the fourth quarter.
For the full fiscal year, DE reported earnings of $3.07 billion, or $7.63 per share, compared to $2.8 billion, or $6.63 per share reported for the same period in the previous year. Revenue for the full year climbed 13% to $36.16 billion.
Sam Allen, Chairman and CEO of Deere, said that the company remains well-positioned to carry out its growth plan and capitalize on positive long-term trends even though present global economic and fiscal concerns warrant continued caution.
For fiscal 2013, Deere expects equipment sales to rise by around 5%. The company expects fiscal 2013 profit to come in at $3.2 billion, which is slightly below the Street estimates of $3.26 billion.
While DE’s earnings outlook for fiscal 2013 is slightly below the consensus forecast, it is still quite robust. This is probably one of the reason why Warren Buffett’s investment firm Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) acquired a stake in DE in the third quarter.
In a recent regulatory filing, BRK.A disclosed that it held 3.98 million shares of DE at the end of the third quarter.
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