Caterpillar Fourth Quarter Revenues Jump 23 Percent Compared to Q420
Caterpillar posted sales and revenues for the fourth quarter of 2021 of $13.8 billion, compared to $11.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020, a 23-percent increase. Operating profit margin was 11.7 percent for the fourth quarter of 2021 compared with 12.3 percent for the fourth quarter of 2020. Fourth-quarter 2021 profit per share was $3.91, compared with $1.42 in the year-ago quarter.
For the full year, Caterpillar revenues were $51 billion, a 22-percent hike compared to 2020 when it posted $41.7 billion. The increase reflected higher end-user demand for equipment and services and the impact from changes in dealer inventories. Dealers decreased their inventories $2.9 billion in 2020, while remaining about flat in 2021. Operating profit margin was 13.5 percent for 2021, compared with 10.9 percent for 2020. Full-year profit was $11.83 per share in 2021, compared with $5.46 per share in 2020.
"I'm proud of our global team's continued resilience in what proved to be a challenging and dynamic operating environment,” said chairman and CEO Jim Umpleby. “We delivered adjusted operating profit margins and ME&T (Machine, Energy & Transportation) free cash flows consistent with our long-term targets established during our 2019 Investor Day. Amid ongoing supply chain constraints, our team continues to execute our strategy for long-term profitable growth while striving to meet customer demand."
Sales were higher across Caterpillar’s three primary segments. In Construction Industries sales in Q421 were $5.736 billion compared to $4.508 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020, a 27.2-percent increase. Resource Industries totaled $2.762 billion compared to $2.180 billion a year ago, a 26.7-percent climb. Energy & Transportation posted $5.728 billion in revenue compared to $4.811 billion in the year-ago quarter, a 19-percent hike.
In North America, revenues soared 29 percent; in Latin America revenues jumped 40 percent; and in the Europe Africa and the Middle East region the increase was 24 percent. In Asia Pacific, the increase was 9 percent.
In the oil-and-gas market, sales increased for reciprocating engines aftermarket parts in all regions, as well as increases for turbines and turbine-related services and reciprocating engines used in gas compression. In power generation, sales went up because of higher sales volume in reciprocating engines aftermarket parts and small reciprocating engines.