November 13, 2009 – Finning International Inc, the world's largest
Caterpillar equipment dealer, said on Tuesday its quarterly profit fell 66
percent due to softer than expected sales in Canada
and Britain.
The company, which sells and rents heavy industrial equipment and
engines, said its third-quarter net income was C$22 million ($21 million), or
13 Canadian cents a share. That compares with C$65 million, or 37 Canadian
cents a share, a year earlier.
Revenue was down 27 percent at C$1.07 billion due to lower new and used
equipment sales and rental revenues in Canada
and Britain.
Analysts, on average, had expected a profit of 24 Canadian cents a
share, on revenue of C$1.14 billion according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
"It was a tough quarter," Mike Waites, president and chief
executive of Finning, said in a statement. "Challenging economic
conditions affected our business more severely than we had expected."
Waites said Finning had generally held its market share and in some cases
increased it, and that its South American operations delivered strong results.
However, he said revenue declined at the company's Canadian operations and that
its United Kingdom
group experienced difficult markets.
The company said its order intake in the quarter improved after a weak
first half, driven by large equipment orders for the mining industry, including
companies developing the oil sands in northern Alberta.
Finning said its backlog of equipment orders was worth C$500 million as
of Sept 30, compared with C$1.5 billion at the beginning of the year.
Finning reported its results after the market close. Shares of the
Vancouver, British Columbia-based company ended the day flat at C$16.15 on the
Toronto Stock Exchange.
From Reuters report dated November 10, 2009.
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