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Jan. 23 (Bloomberg) — Komatsu Ltd., the world’s second- biggest maker of earthmoving equipment, cut its profit forecast 42 percent, citing slowing demand from emerging markets.

Net income will probably be 110 billion yen ($1.2 billion) in the year ending March 31, compared with its Oct. 29 outlook of 190 billion yen, the Tokyo-based company said in a statement today. That’s a 47 percent drop from last year’s results.

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Jan. 23 (Bloomberg) — Caterpillar Inc., the world’s largest maker of construction equipment, may say profit fell again as sales slowed, a pattern that might extend into 2009 even if President Barack Obama’s $825 billion stimulus package is approved.

Caterpillar, the Peoria, Illinois-based builder of iconic mustard-hued earthmovers and excavators, may say Jan. 26 that fourth-quarter net income fell 18 percent to $804.3 million, the average estimate of seven analysts polled by Bloomberg. Sales probably rose 3.5 percent to $12.56 billion, the slowest growth rate in six years.

Caterpillar, Terex Corp., Joy Global Inc. and Deere & Co., which span the mining and agricultural machine industries, are among the major heavy-equipment makers whose profit and sales estimates have been cut by Bloomberg analysts from highs as recent as last fall. Those companies report earnings during the next two months.

“2009 is shaping up to be buck-naked ugly,” Sterne Agee & Leach Inc.’s Nicholas Heymann said in a Jan. 20 note to clients. Heymann, who has already projected that earnings for industrial companies would fall on average 20 percent to 30 percent this year, now expects earnings to fall as much as 40 percent. He said he might slash still further.

Results for heavy equipment makers may come under increasing pressure if Obama’s infrastructure package, which includes $44 billion for roads, bridges, rail and transport projects, isn’t approved before the President’s Day recess next month, said Heymann, a New York-based analyst who heads Sterne Agee’s infrastructure research.

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“In the fourth quarter of 2008, CNH delivered another quarter of year-over-year increases in operating profit, while for the full year our Equipment Operations Gross and Operating Margins hit their highest levels in the history of the company,” said Harold Boyanovsky, CNH President and Chief Executive Officer. “That’s a solid track record, achieved through constant focus on our brands, our products and our results.

Our Agricultural Equipment business growth continued in the quarter, especially in the cash grain segments. Sales of Construction Equipment were lower than fourth quarter 2007 as global markets declined precipitously, leading us to substantially reduce production. In light of continuing volatility in financial markets and consequent uncertainty in the equipment market, we are preparing for a turbulent 2009 and expect the first quarter to be particularly challenging.”

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JCB warned that its sales could fall a further 25 per cent this year, on top of a decline of about 20 per cent in 2008, while also announcing a further 684 redundancies in its UK workforce.

The extent of the slide in demand affecting Britain’s biggest construction equipment-maker is another reminder that the pace of the downturn in manufacturing shows no signs of slackening. View full article »

Dec. 19 (Bloomberg) — Komatsu Ltd., the world’s second- largest maker of earthmovers, will slash capital spending on facilities used to make construction and mining equipment due to the severe business outlook, Executive Officer Kunio Noji said.

The Tokyo-based company will spend about 30 billion yen ($338.8 million) on plant and equipment used to produce construction and mining machinery, which accounts for 85 percent of annual revenue, Chief Executive Officer Kunio Noji said in an interview. Komatsu invested a record 70 billion yen in this business in the current period.

“We’ll need about 30 billion yen to maintain safety levels and replace old machines, but we won’t invest to expand output,” Noji, 62, said in the interview in Tokyo. “These tough times will probably continue next fiscal year.”

The slumping global economy and strong yen are threatening Tokyo-based Komatsu’s earnings outlook. Komatsu was targeting a fifth straight year of record profits this year until the effects of the global credit crisis undermined demand for construction and mining equipment, prompting the company to cut its forecasts on Oct. 29.

The company now expects to earn 2.38 trillion yen in revenue, 300 billion in operating profit and 190 billion yen in net profit.

Komatsu shares fell 4.5 percent to 1,073 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange