Summary
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) filed a Form 8-K on August 17, 2012, to provide supplemental information regarding retail sales of machines and power systems for the three-month rolling period ending July 2012, compared to the same period in the prior year. This disclosure, furnished under Regulation FD, offers insights into the company's sales performance across various geographic regions and business sectors, based on unaudited reports from its independent dealers. The data reveals a generally positive trend in machine retail sales, driven significantly by North America and the Asia/Pacific region, both showing robust double-digit percentage increases. While the Europe, Africa, and Middle East (EAME) region experienced a slight decline, and Latin America continued a downward trend, the overall global machine sales showed an increase. For power systems, the Transportation and Petroleum sectors demonstrated strong growth, while Electric Power and Industrial sectors saw declines. Investors should note that this information reflects dealer deliveries to end-users and may not directly align with Caterpillar's reported sales figures due to time lags and the independent nature of dealer reporting.
Key Highlights
- 1Global machine retail sales increased by 14% for the three months ending July 2012 compared to the prior year.
- 2North America showed a significant 25% increase in machine retail sales for the period.
- 3Asia/Pacific region demonstrated strong growth with a 28% increase in machine retail sales.
- 4EAME (Europe, Africa, and Middle East) region experienced a slight 1% decrease in machine retail sales.
- 5Latin America continued a downward trend with a 2% decrease in machine retail sales.
- 6Power Systems retail sales saw a 4% overall increase, with strong performance in Transportation (up 11%) and Petroleum (up 20%).
- 7Electric Power and Industrial sectors within Power Systems experienced declines of 6% and 19% respectively.