Investing.com - Agricultural machinery giant Deere & Company reported better-than-expected fiscal second quarter earnings on the back of strong revenue figures, it announced early Wednesday.
Deere said earnings per share came in at $2.65 in the fiscal second quarter ended April 30, easily surpassing expectations for earnings of $2.50 per share. The firm’s second quarter revenue totaled $9.95 billion, above expectations for revenue of $9.65 billion.
Net sales of the equipment operations were $9.246 billion for the quarter and $16.195 billion for six months, compared with $10.265 billion and $17.058 billion for the same periods last year.
"John Deere is on its way to another year of solid financial and operating performance," said Samuel R. Allen, chairman and chief executive officer.
The company reiterated its full-year earnings outlook, saying it expected annual net income to come in at USD3.3 billion.
"John Deere expects to achieve near-record earnings for the full year and the company is well-positioned to deliver solid financial results throughout the business cycle," Allen said.
Following the release of the report, Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) shares rose 0.3% in pre-market trade.
Meanwhile, the outlook for U.S. equity markets was mildly lower. The Dow pointed to a drop of 0.1% at the open, the S&P 500 indicated a loss of 0.1%, while the Nasdaq 100 signaled a decline of 0.1%.