MOLINE, Ill. (AP) – Deere’s fiscal first-quarter performance beat Wall Street’s expectations, even as the company continues to deal with weak sales of farm and construction equipment. The agricultural equipment maker lowered its full-year forecast.
Deere has been contending with slumping agricultural machinery sales for some time. Falling commodity prices have made farmers less likely to buy new equipment. Declining oil prices have also affected its construction equipment sales. In November the company announced that it was laying off about 220 workers.
But Deere has been effectively managing its costs. In the first quarter, total costs and expenses declined to $5.17 billion from $5.82 billion.
For the period ended Jan. 31, Deere & Co. earned $254.4 million, or 80 cents per share. That compares with $386.8 million, or $1.12 per share, a year earlier.
This beat the 71 cents per share that analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research expected.