Sales drop 16% for John Deere

John Deere, the world’s third largest construction OEM according to the latest Yellow Table, has seen sales for its construction and forestry segment in the fourth quarter of 2020 ending 1 November decline by 16% compared to the same quarter last year.

Sales were down to US$2.46 billion in the final quarter of 2020, compared to US$2.94 billion in the same quarter in 2019. Operating profit was down by 25%.

For the year as a whole, the construction and forestry division has sales of US$8.9 billion, a 20% decline from the US$11.2 billion of sales in 2019.

Looking to the future, Deere predicts that worldwide sales of construction and forestry equipment are anticipated to be up 5-10% for 2021. The outlook reflects some degree of recovery from the pandemic in construction equipment, continued strength in compact construction due to residential building activity, and expected growth in the roadbuilding sector.

In North American, construction equipment sales are expected to be down about 5%, but this will be countered with sales of compact equipment which are expected to up by around the same amount.

“John Deere delivered another quarter of strong performance and a solid year despite the challenges associated with managing the pandemic,” said John C. May, chairman and chief executive officer.

Net sales and revenue for the company as a whole in 2020 was US$35.5 billion, down 9% from 2019’s US$39.2 billion.