Quad Cities-based Deere & Company is announcing a big drop in first quarter earnings, with $194-million, or 61-cents per share.
Those earnings compare with $254 million, or 80 cents per share, a year ago. The company says soft market conditions in farm and construction equipment sales affected the results. Worldwide net sales and revenues for the first quarter increased 2 percent, to $5.6 billion.
Deere chairman and CEO Samuel R. Allen says although the quarter’s sales and earnings were lower than last year, all of Deere’s businesses remain solidly profitable. He says efforts to establish a more efficient cost structure are on track. And Allen says Deere is also seeing signs that key ag markets may be stabilizing after several years of steep declines.
Deere is Iowa’s largest manufacturing employer.