John Deere is hiring again at U.S. factories, thanks to improving conditions in markets for farm and construction equipment. This morning, the company announced third quarter earnings of $642 million, or $1.97 per share compared to $1.55 in the same period a year ago. That's a 27% jump.
Worldwide sales and revenue rose 16% to $7.8 billion.
Deere spokesman Ken Golden says the US farm economy is stabilizing, so the company has been hiring small groups of previously laid-off workers.
Worldwide sales of Agriculture and Turf Equipment increased 13% over the third quarter last year. But most of the gain was in South America.
Deere's full-year outlook is for an increase of 9%. Narrowing it down to farm equipment sales in North America, Golden says the company's prediction for a decline of 5% hasn't changed. That stabilization is good news because of steep declines during the downturn in the US farm economy.
In May, June, and July, worldwide sales of Deere Construction and Forestry Equipment jumped 29% compared to the same period a year ago. The full-year forecast is a 15% hike.
And the company has slightly increased its outlook for 2017 net income from $2 billion, to $2.075 billion.
DEERE 3Q 2017 Earnings-Call-Presentation by Michelle O'Neill on Scribd
