Engine-maker Cummins Inc (NYSE:CMI) delivered better-than-expected fourth quarter results this morning but a fat lot of good it will do them when the market opens.
In pre-market trading, the stock was down 3.5% at US$173.00, even though adjusted earnings per share of US$3.03 comfortably surpassed expectations of US$2.65.
Demand to remain strong in 2018
Net revenue rose to US$5.48bn from US$4.5bn in the fourth quarter of 2016, and was ahead of the US$56.2bn expected by the market.
Cummins said it expects revenue in the current year will grow by between 4% and 8% from 2017’s level.
“The company delivered strong growth, solid profitability and record operating cash flow in 2017,” said the chairman and chief executive, Tom Linebarger.
“We expect demand to remain strong in many of our core markets in 2018 and profitability to improve as a result of higher sales and continued execution of our cost reduction initiatives. The company again plans to return at least 50% of operating cash flow to shareholders in 2018,” he added.
The fourth quarter dividend was US$1.08, up from US$1.025 the year before.