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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Caterpillar's fourth-quarter net income fell by half after it took a big charge for a deal in China that went bad, and because of slower growth in China and economic uncertainty in the U.S. and Europe.
Still, its adjusted profit and revenue were better than analysts expected. And while cautious about the global economic outlook, Caterpillar does expect conditions to pick up later in the year, outside of Europe. Shares rose 2.4 percent in premarket trading.
Caterpillar Inc. makes construction and mining equipment as well as power generators, so its growth rises and falls with the world's economy.
For the fourth quarter, Caterpillar earned $697 million, or $1.04 per share. That was down from a profit of $1.55 billion, or $2.32 per share a year earlier. For this year, Caterpillar expects revenue of $60 billion to $68 billion, with a profit of $7 to $9 per share.
For all of 2012, the company's profits rose 15 percent to $5.68 billion, or $8.48 per share, up from $4.93 billion, or $7.40 per share, in 2011. Revenue rose 10 percent to $65.88 billion, from $60.14 billion.