UPDATE: Caterpillar Shares Rise On Strong Q3 Results

Shares of Caterpillar

gained more than 4% in pre-market trading after the company posted a better-than-expected profit for the third quarter and lifted its 2014 profit outlook. The Peoria, Illinois-based company posted a quarterly net profit of $1.1 billion, or $1.63 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $946 million, or $1.45 per share. Excluding certain items, the company earned $1.72 per share. Its sales climbed to $13.549. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $1.36 per share on sales of $13.2 billion. Sales rose 15% in North America, while sales slipped 21% in Latin America. Asia/Pacific sales dropped 7% in the quarter. Energy & Transportation's sales rose 13%, while Resource Industries' sales dropped 19%. Construction Industries' sales came in about flat, while Financial Products' segment revenue rose 5%. "We're pleased with the third-quarter profit improvement considering world economic growth remains slower than we'd like. We've continued to focus on what we can control — cost management and operational execution,” said Caterpillar Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Doug Oberhelman. Caterpillar now expects full-year earnings of $6.50 per share, versus its earlier forecast of $6.20 per share. It narrowed sales forecast to $55 billion, versus earlier forecast of $54.0 billion to $56.0 billion. It projects sales for 2015 to be flat to slightly up compared to 2014. Caterpillar shares gained 4.48% to $98.81 in pre-market trading.