Deere 4th-quarter profit rises partly on strong farm and commercial equipment sales

MOLINE -- Deere & Co. said Wednesday its fiscal fourth-quarter profit rose 52 percent due in part to strong sales of agricultural and commercial equipment.

Earnings climbed to $422.1 million, or $1.88 per share, from $277.3 million, or $1.20 per share, in the previous year.

The company said its earnings per share results do not reflect a recently approved 2-for-1 stock split.

Quarterly revenue for the period ended Oct. 31 grew 20 percent to $6.14 billion from $5.12 billion a year ago.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected net income of $1.55 per share on sales of $5.8 billion. The earnings estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Equipment operations revenue increased to $5.42 billion from $4.49 billion in the prior year. Sales in the company's agricultural division increased, helping to offset declines in construction and forestry revenue.

Deere said it benefited from an improving global farm economy, which helped counter weakening in other sectors as a result of the U.S. housing downturn.

Deere said it anticipates 2008 earnings of about $2.1 billion and first-quarter profit of approximately $325 million.

Equipment sales are expected to climb by about 12 percent for the year and to be up about 25 percent for the first quarter, the company said.