Caterpillar Inc posted a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit on Monday as the world's largest mining and construction equipment aggressively cut costs to offset continued sluggish sales of its earth-moving equipment.
The Peoria, Illinois-based company, which also makes locomotives and diesel and turbine engines, reported a fourth-quarter profit of $1 billion, or $1.54 a share, up from $697 million, or $1.04 a share, in the fourth quarter of 2012.
Revenue fell 10 percent to $14.4 billion.
Analysts, on average, expected Caterpillar to post a profit of $1.28 a share on sales of $13.6 billion, according to Thomson Reuters estimates.