Agricultural, construction, and forestry machinery company Deere & Company (NYSE: DE) reported fiscal fourth quarter results Wednesday morning that prompted management to revise its 2021 outlook higher.
Q4 and full-year recap
Deere said it earned $2.39 per share in the fiscal fourth quarter on revenue of $9.73 billion versus expectations of $1.49 per share and revenue of $9.89 billion. Net income for the quarter rose 5% year-over-year to $757 million due to what management described as strong execution and disciplined cost management.
Encouragingly, Agriculture & Turf sales rose from $5.76 billion to $6.2 billion in the fourth quarter due to price realization and higher shipment volumes. Profit improved from $527 million to $860 million due to similar price realization, lower research and development expenses, reduced SGA expenses, improved shipment volumes and mix, and lower warranty expenses.
Elsewhere, Equipment Operations sales fell 1% year-over-year to $8.7 billion, Construction & Forestry sales fell 16% to $2.5 billion and Financial Services sales rose 107% to $186 million.
Here is a recap of how Deere performed in its fiscal third quarter.
Revenue for the full-year fell from $39.26 billion to $35.54 billion, net income fell from $3.25 billion to $2.75 billion and EPS dipped from $10.15 to $8.69. Management noted it considers its full-year performance to be “solid” as it was up against challenges associated with navigating through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Improved 2021 outlook
In conjunction with Deere’s fiscal fourth quarter report, management said it expects total net income to improve from $2.75 billion to a range of $3.6 billion to $4 billion. Management singled out improving fundamentals in the agricultural sector for lifting demand in the coming year.
Specifically, management
