Deere Beats Estimates But Warns Sales, Profits Will Keep Dropping

Deere's fourth-quarter results beat Wall Street expectations but it says its farm equipment sales and profits will keep falling in its new fiscal year as the sector remains weak. Its shares fell 3% in pre-market trading on Wednesday. Deere says it earned $649.2 million, or $1.83 per share, in the fourth quarter, on $8.97 billion in revenue. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting earnings of $1.57 a share on $7.75 billion in revenue. The world's biggest farm equipment supplier says its annual net income will drop about 40% and it expects revenue from agricultural and turf equipment to drop 20% in the current fiscal year. Amid falling commodity prices and lower farm income, Deere lowered its outlook in August and said it would cut production due to weak sales.