The continued rebound in global mining and construction activities has helped Caterpillar boost its sales and annual profits forecast for a second time this year, leading to hopes of a sustained revival.
Caterpillar has said that it expects sales and revenue of between $42bn and $44bn this year – higher than previous projections of $38bn to $41bn.
Reporting second quarter results, Caterpillar chief executive Jim Umpleby said: “While a number of our end markets remain challenged, construction in China and gas compression in North America were highlights in the quarter. Mining and oil-related activities have come off of recent lows, and we are seeing improving demand for construction in most regions.
“Given our performance in the first half of the year and current quotation and ordering activity, we are confident in raising our full-year 2017 outlook,” he added.
However, the company warned that some risks remain, including “weakness in the Middle East and Latin America”, as well as geopolitical and commodity risk.
For the three months to the end of June, sales were up nearly 10% at $11.3bn, exceeding analysts’ estimates for $10.88bn.
