Caterpillar reveals fourth quarter sales results

Caterpillar, the world’s biggest construction OEM, has revealed that full year sales and revenue in 2021 was US$51.0 billion, a 22% increase compared with US$41.7 billion in 2020.

Fourth quarter sales for the company in 2021 was US$13.8 billion, a 23% increase compared with the fourth quarter of 2020. 

Specifically for the construction segment, sales in the fourth quarter of 2021 were US$5.7 billion, an increase of US$1.2 billion (27%) compared with US$4.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020.

North America saw sales increase by 39% compared to the same quarter in 2021 to US$2.63 billion, while Latin America saw an even bigger sales increase of 74% to US$663 million. Europe, Africa and the Middle East (EAME) saw sales rise by 47% in the fourth quarter of 2021 to US$1.24 billion.

The only region to see a decline was Asia/Pacific, which saw sales drop 12% to US$1.24 billion. Lower sales in China were cited as the main reason for the region’s decline.

Construction Industries’ profit was US$788 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, an increase of 25% compared with the fourth quarter of 2020.

The resource industries, which includes mining, saw total sales of US$2.762 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021, an increase of 27% compared with the fourth quarter of 2020. Sales were up in all regions, with North America seeing the biggest increase (44%) and Latin America the smallest (5%).

“I’m proud of our global team’s continued resilience in what proved to be a challenging and dynamic operating environment,” said Caterpillar Chairman and CEO, Jim Umpleby.

“Amid ongoing supply chain constraints, our team continues to execute our strategy for long-term profitable growth while striving to meet customer demand.”