8-KRegulation FD

CATERPILLAR INC 8-K Report, Regulation FD Disclosure (Sep 19, 2014)

Filed September 19, 2014For Securities:CAT

Summary

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) filed an 8-K on September 19, 2014, to provide supplemental information regarding its retail sales statistics for the three-month rolling period ending August 2014. This report, furnished under Regulation FD, offers insights into end-user sales of machines and power systems, based on unaudited data voluntarily provided by independent dealers. The company emphasizes that this information is intended to indicate trends and should not be considered a substitute for audited financial statements. The data reveals a mixed retail sales performance across different segments and regions. While North America showed positive growth for both total machines and construction equipment, other regions like Asia/Pacific and Latin America experienced significant declines. The Resource Industries segment globally saw a substantial downturn, whereas the Construction Industries segment experienced a slight decrease globally. The Energy & Transportation segment, however, demonstrated overall positive retail sales growth for the period, driven by the Oil & Gas and Transportation sectors.

Key Highlights

  • 1Supplemental information on retail sales of machines and power systems for the three-month rolling period ended August 2014 was provided.
  • 2The data is based on unaudited reports from independent dealers and is intended to indicate sales trends, not as a substitute for audited financial statements.
  • 3Globally, total machine retail sales declined by 10% for the three months ended August 2014 compared to the prior year.
  • 4North America showed a positive trend in retail machine sales, with an 8% increase for the period.
  • 5Resource Industries segment experienced a significant global decline in retail machine sales, down 33% for the period.
  • 6Construction Industries segment saw a slight global decline of 1% in retail machine sales for the period.
  • 7The Energy & Transportation segment reported a 4% increase in total retail sales for the period, with strong performance in Oil & Gas and Transportation.

Frequently Asked Questions

The primary purpose of this 8-K filing is to furnish supplemental information to investors regarding Caterpillar's retail sales statistics for machines and power systems to end users and OEMs. This data helps in understanding business trends and industry performance, especially given the time lag between Caterpillar's sales to dealers and dealers' sales to end users.

The data presented is based on unaudited reports voluntarily provided by Caterpillar's independent dealers and is not subject to the company's internal controls over financial reporting. Caterpillar states that this data may not be accurate or complete and is intended solely to provide an approximate indication of trends, direction, and magnitude of retail sales.

For the three-month rolling period ended August 2014, North America was a bright spot with an 8% increase in total machine retail sales. However, other regions experienced significant declines: Asia/Pacific was down 24%, EAME was down 17%, and Latin America was down 29%.

The Resource Industries segment globally saw a substantial decline of 33% in retail machine sales. The Construction Industries segment experienced a slight global decrease of 1%. In contrast, the Energy & Transportation segment showed an overall increase of 4% in retail sales, with notable growth in the Oil & Gas and Transportation sectors.