U.S. results
Ford boosts outlook
Ford Motor boosted its full-year outlook and posted a second-quarter profit that trounced expectations on the strength of operations outside North America. Ford said its pre-tax operating profit this year would be “about equal or higher” than last year’s $8bn (£5.2bn), rather than “about equal”. For the second quarter, it reported a pre-tax profit of 45 cents per share, eight cents better than the average estimate.
Caterpillar cuts forecast
Caterpillar reported a 43.5 per cent drop in quarterly profit and cut its outlook for the year yesterday, blaming steeper-than-expected inventory reductions by dealers and weak demand from miners. The world’s largest maker of mining and construction equipment, which has reduced its worldwide workforce by eight per cent in the past year, said cost-paring would continue in the second half.
Pepsi tops expectations
PepsiCo reported higher-than-expected quarterly earnings yesterday, as price increases and productivity improvements helped margins in the face of weak soft-drink sales in North America and Europe. Despite the beat, the maker of Pepsi-Cola and Tropicana juice stood by its outlook for 2013, which calls for earnings growth of seven per cent. Net income was $2.01bn, or $1.28 per share in PepsiCo’s second quarter.
Profits jump at Boeing
Boeing posted a better-than-expected 13 per cent jump in quarterly profit yesterday after delivering more commercial jets, shrugging off concerns about the 787 Dreamliner. The company also raised its full-year revenue forecast, thanks to $40bn (£26bn) in new orders and the launch of the Dreamliner 787-10. It reported net income of $1.09bn, or $1.41 per share. Excluding items, it earned $1.67 per share.