(RTTNews) - Farm machine maker Deere & Co. (DE: News ) reported Wednesday a loss for the fourth quarter compared to a profit last year, hurt by by dwindling equipment sales and a big writedown.

However, excluding the unusual items, the bellwether of the US agricultural sector would have been profitable in the fourth quarter.

The global economic crisis has led to a decline in demand for Deere's products, especially in farming and construction.

Equipment net sales fell 30%, yet beat the market projections. Further, the company projected a 10% decline in first-quarter net sales, and a 1% decrease in net sales for the full year 2010.

In a statement, president and chief executive officer, Samuel Allen said, "In the face of intense global economic pressure, John Deere has completed a solidly profitable year and maintained its strong financial condition. All our businesses are benefiting from the consistent execution of plans to keep a tight rein on costs and inventories. In addition, Deere has made further progress extending its competitive position through a relentless focus on customers and a steady investment in new projects, products and geographies."

Fourth Quarter Results

The Moline, Illinois-based company reported a net loss of $222.8 million or $0.53 per share, compared to net income of $345.0 million or $0.81 per share in the prior-year quarter.
The results for the latest quarter include after-tax charges of $321.8 million or $0.76 per share related to goodwill impairment and voluntary and voluntary employee-separation expenses. Excluding the charge, net income for the latest quarter was $99.0 million or $0.23 per share.

On average, 20 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.03 per share for the fourth quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

While announcing the third-quarter results back in August, Deere said its fourth-quarter results would be affected by significant production cutbacks that are being made in line with retail demand. Voluntary employee separations related to the new organizational structure are expected to result in pretax charges of about $85 million in the fourth quarter, the company had noted. Deere further projected equipment net sales to be down about 34% for the fourth quarter.

A month later, Deere said it would take a $300 million impairment charge in the fourth quarter related to reduction in the value of the John Deere Landscapes reporting unit due to weak economic conditions.

To receive FREE breaking news email alerts for Deere And Co and others in your portfolio

 1   2   3   4   Next Page