Cummins turns in much higher profit despite lower revenue

Cummins Inc. saw a big jump in profit in the fourth quarter despite shrinking revenue, the Indiana-based engine manufacturer announced Thursday.

The company reported profit of $378 million, or $2.25 per share, in the period, up from $161 million, or 92 cents per share, in the fourth quarter of 2015.

The results exceeded the average prediction of nine analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research, which was for earnings of $2.02 per share.
Cummins had revenue of $4.5 billion in the period, exceeding Wall Street forecasts of $4.38 billion.

But revenue was down 6 percent in the quarter, to $4.5 billion. Full-year revenue was $17.5 billion, down 8 percent from 2015.

Columbus-based Cummins said North America revenue fell 13 percent in the quarter and 12 percent during the full year.

The company predicted revenue wasn’t likely to increase this year and could fall 5 percent.

“Despite weak conditions in a number of our largest markets, Cummins delivered fourth quarter results that were a little better than expected due to our strong market share in on-highway markets in North America and the benefits of our cost-reduction work,” CEO Tom Linebarger said in written remarks. “We made significant progress in a number of our key initiatives in 2016, including executing our restructuring actions, completing the acquisition of our distributors in North America and continuing to invest in new products, all of which help position the company for profitable growth when markets improve.”

For the year, the company reported profit of $1.39 billion, or $8.23 per share. Revenue was reported as $17.51 billion.

Cummins shares were up 4.3 percent Thursday morning, to $151.91 each. At Wednesday’s close, the stock had risen 48 percent in the last 12 months.