·In the first quarter of 2022, sales and revenue increased by 14% to $13.6 billion
·Earnings per share in the first quarter of 2022 was $2.86; Adjusted earnings per share was $2.88
·In this quarter, $1.4 billion was returned to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends
Caterpillar (NYSE: cat) recently announced that its sales and revenue in the first quarter of 2022 were $13.6 billion, up 14% from $11.9 billion in the first quarter of 2021. This growth is driven by the rising demand for equipment and services from end users, the impact of changes in agent inventory, and a favorable price system. Compared with the same period in 2021, the inventory of caterpillar agents in the first quarter of 2022 is more sufficient.
The operating profit margin in the first quarter of 2022 was 13.7%, compared with 15.3% in the first quarter of 2021. Earnings per share in the first quarter of 2022 was $2.86, compared with $2.77 in the first quarter of 2021. Adjusted earnings per share for the first quarter of 2022 was $2.88, while adjusted earnings per share for the first quarter of 2021 was $2.87. Adjusted earnings per share in the first quarter of the two years do not include restructuring costs.
For the three months ended March 31, 2022, Caterpillar's operating cash flow was $300 million. At the end of the first quarter, caterpillar had $6.5 billion in corporate cash. The company paid about $1.3 billion in short-term incentive compensation in this quarter, and the compensation mechanism was officially restored in 2021. This quarter, the Company repurchased $800 million of caterpillar common stock and paid a dividend of $600 million.
An Bojun, chairman and CEO of caterpillar, affirmed the company's achievements in the first quarter: "I am proud that caterpillar's global team still achieved double-digit sales growth at a time when the supply chain is still facing challenges. We will still focus on supporting customers and implementing our long-term profit growth strategy." At the same time, he also said, "Caterpillar's strong profitability has enabled us to buy back shares in this quarter and reap a total of $1.4 billion including a dividend of $600 million."
