Caterpillar Inc. announced first-quarter 2022 sales and revenues of $13.6 billion, a 14.3-percent increase compared with $11.9 billion in the first quarter of 2021. The increase was primarily the results of higher sales volume, driven by higher end-user demand for equipment and services and the impact from changes in dealer inventories, as well as favorable price realization. Dealers increased inventories more during the first quarter of 2022 than during the first quarter of 2021.
Operating profit margin was 13.7 percent for the first quarter of 2022, compared with 15.3 percent for the first quarter of 2021. First-quarter 2022 profit per share was $2.86, compared with first-quarter 2021 profit per share of $2.77. Adjusted profit per share in the first quarter of 2022 was $2.88, compared with first-quarter 2021 adjusted profit per share of $2.87. Adjusted profit per share for both quarters excluded restructuring costs.
For the three months ended March 31, 2022, enterprise operating cash flow was $0.3 billion and the company ended the first quarter with $6.5 billion of enterprise cash. The company paid about $1.3 billion of short-term incentive compensation in the quarter, which was reinstated in 2021. In the quarter, the company repurchased $0.8 billion of Caterpillar common stock and paid dividends of $0.6 billion.
“I’m proud of our global team’s performance as they achieved double-digit sales growth despite ongoing supply chain challenges,” said chairman and CEO Jim Umpleby. “We remain focused on supporting our customers and executing our strategy for long-term profitable growth. “Our strong balance sheet allowed us to repurchase shares and pay dividends totaling $1.4 billion in the quarter.”
