LAS VEGAS: Caterpillar Inc, the world's largest maker of earth-moving equipment, has cut its 2015 earnings forecast, citing weak global economic conditions that are hampering its expansion into mining and China.
The company expects to earn $12 to $18 per share in 2015, it told analysts during a presentation in Las Vegas on Monday.
Caterpillar had previously forecast 2015 earnings of $15 to $20 per share.
Caterpillar shares fell 2.3 percent to $88.80 in after-hours trading on Monday.
Prices for coal and iron ore have dropped more than 20 percent this year, causing many of Caterpillar's customers in the mining sector to rethink capital expenditures. The slump in commodity prices comes a year after Caterpillar paid $7.6 billion for mining equipment maker Bucyrus International.
"We've seen a slowing in economic growth more than we expected," Caterpillar CEO Doug Oberhelman told analysts and reporters on Monday. "We expect fairly anemic and modest growth through 2015."
The Bucyrus deal was the largest in Caterpillar's history, adding mining shovels and draglines to the company's lineup of trucks and excavators to become the world's largest producer of mining equipment. Given the weak economy, though, some on Wall Street have questioned the timing of the deal.
Among the world's eight largest miners, only three are boosting capex spending next year. Vale, which has the largest capex budget among miners, plans to cut its 2013 mining budget by 4 percent from 2012 levels.
Capital expenditures in the mining sector could slip at least 10 percent by 2014, JPMorgan estimates.
Since roughly 70 percent of spending in mines is for large trucks, capex cuts are not good news for Caterpillar and peers that include Komatsu.
Caterpillar spends roughly 30 percent of its own capex and most of its research and development dollars on mining products.
Given the mining market uncertainty, Caterpillar's forecast cut was not a complete surprise to Wall Street, where many had kept expectations low ahead of Monday's event.
Analysts and investors say they remain bullish on the company in the long-term, but acknowledge that Caterpillar has hit bumps in the road.
The forecast cut is "a realistic reflection of the slowdown in the global economy," said Oliver Pursche of the GMG Defensive Beta Fund, which owns Caterpillar shares. "We're not overly surprised by the announcement."
China's switch toward a more consumption-based economy from an export economy will limit spending on infrastructure, which had been a key driver of demand for Caterpillar's machines, he said.
Recent commentary from railroad Norfolk Southern and FedEx Corp has also tempered investor expectations about global and US economic growth.
"Certainly in the short-term there are some headwinds, but long-term we're still bullish on Caterpillar," Pursche said.
Caterpillar executives spoke during the MINExpo mining exhibition in Las Vegas, a global convention for mining suppliers that takes place every four years.
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