Caterpillar shares climb 4.6% on fourth-quarter earnings beat

“Cost management, restructuring actions and operational execution are helping the company while sales and revenues remain under pressure from weak commodity prices and slowing economic growth in developing countries”, said Caterpillar chief executive Doug Oberhelman.

Shares of Caterpillar moved higher in premarket trading immediately following the announcement.

Excluding restructuring costs, Caterpillar earned 74 cents per share, compared with $1.35 per share.

Sales and revenues for 2016 are expected to be in a range of $40 to $44 billion – a mid-point of $42 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast $3.48 a share in adjusted earnings.

In September, it said that it will slash nearly 10,000 jobs by 2018; moreover, in October, it announced to raise restructuring costs from $250 million to $800 million in 2015.

The biggest machinery maker has faced tough conditions across all its markets.

Caterpillar’s earnings and revenue have tumbled as customers in the natural resources and energy sectors rein in capital spending amid a collapse in global commodities prices.

For the fourth quarter ended December 31, Caterpillar swung to a loss of $87 million, or 15 cents a share, compared with a prior-year profit of $757 million, or $1.23 a share. According to Bloomberg, analysts had estimated earnings per share of $0.69 and revenues of $11.45 billion.

Caterpillar said sales in the quarter declined across all of its regions and segments.