Here is something on John Deere.
April 29, 1999
Deere Reduces Sales Forecast
Filed at 9:25 p.m. EDT
By The Associated Press
MOLINE, Ill. (AP) -- Dogged by a sagging farm economy and weak demand
for agricultural equipment, Deere & Co. expects second-quarter sales to drop
20 percent from the same period last year.
Deere initially projected a 13 percent agriculture equipment sales reduction
for the second quarter.
The Moline-based company also said Thursday that it anticipates sales
volume for 1999 will decline by approximately 18 to 20 percent from 1998
levels, compared with its previous estimate of 13 to 15 percent
Deere officials attributed the revised forecasts to the continuation of
depressed agricultural commodity prices. The market was the weakest for
large-size, high-margin agricultural equipment parts, one of Deere's strongest
areas, officials said.
In response to the less-than-rosy projections, the maker of tractors and
combines said it would reduce farm-machinery production in the coming
months. Deere announced earlier this year that it would be extending annual
summer plant shutdowns by up to five weeks.
First-quarter earnings for Deere plunged 75 percent. For the three months
that ended Jan. 1, the company's net income fell to $49.7 million, or 21 cents
a share, from $203 million, or 81 cents a share, a year ago.
Quarterly sales fell 14 percent to $2.46 billion from $2.85 billion as sales of
both agricultural and construction equipment tumbled 23 percent. Sales of
commercial and consumer equipment rose 8 percent.
Copyright 1999 The New York Times Company |
