DEERFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Caterpillar Inc. on Thursday reported a loss of $1.3 billion in its fourth quarter, driven down by a hefty charge related to tax reform.
On a per-share basis, the Deerfield, Illinois-based company said it had a loss of $2.18. Results in the latest quarter include a tax-related charge of $2.4 billion, or $3.91 per share.
Excluding that, restructuring costs and other items, Caterpillar earned $2.16 per share, topping the average estimate of $1.77 per share, according to Zacks Investment Research.
The construction equipment company posted revenue growth of 35 percent to $12.9 billion, also beating Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $12.01 billion.
"After four challenging years, many key markets improved in 2017, and our global team delivered strong results," CEO Jim Umpleby said in a statement. "We remained focused on operational excellence and made early investments in profitable growth initiatives as we began to implement our new strategy."
For the full year, the company earned $754 million, or $1.26 per share, on revenue of $45.46 billion. Adjusted earnings per share for 2017 totaled $6.88.
Looking ahead, Caterpillar expects 2018 adjusted earnings in the range of $8.25 to $9.25 per share. That tops the average FactSet estimate of $8.15 per share.
Caterpillar shares added 4 cents to $168.38 in afternoon trading.
