Canadian Caterpillar dealership Finning, one of the world’s largest Caterpillar dealers, posted CDN $1.755 billion in third quarter revenue, compared to $1.538 billion in the third quarter of 2017, a 14.1-percent increase. Equipment rental revenue was $68 million, compared to $63 million in the year-ago quarter, a 7.9-percent hike. Canadian revenue totaled $910 million, compared to $736 million in the year-ago quarter, a 23.6-percent jump. Revenue in the United Kingdom and Ireland increased 1.6 percent to $558 million, while in South America revenue climbed 13.4 percent to $287 million, driven by a 23-percent jump in Chile.
Equipment rental increased from $43 million to $46 million year over year in Canada, a 7-percent increase. In South America equipment rental was flat at $12 million, while in the U.K. and Ireland it jumped 25 percent from $8 million to $10 million.
“We delivered a strong quarter in Canada and the U.K. and Ireland, marked by improved operating margins and higher return on invested capital,” said Scott Thomson, president and CEO of Finning International. “Although economic conditions in Argentina are extremely challenging, we achieved strong revenue growth in Chile, driven by new equipment deliveries in mining, and our profitability in Chile continued to be solid and in line with our expectations.
“Our solid equipment order intake and backlog reflect continued broad-based market strength in western Canada and the U.K. and Ireland. In Canada, our order intake was the highest in 2018. In Chile, increased copper production and the aging machine population bode well for our mining business. In addition, large-scale infrastructure projects planned in each of our regions provide significant opportunities.”
For the first nine months of 2018, total revenue for Finning was $5.154 billion compared to $4.523 billion for the same period in 2017, a 14-percent climb. Equipment rental revenue worldwide was $175 million compared to $168 million in the year-ago period, a 4.2-percent rise. Canadian revenue increased from $2.216 billion in 2017 to $2.669 billion, a 20-percent hike, while equipment rental rose 1.9 percent from $107 million to $109 million.
In Canada, Finning does business in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Yukon, Northwest Territories and part of Nunavut. It operates in Chile, Argentina and Bolivia, England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Finning is No. 20 on the RER 100.
