CNH Industrial, the multi-brand machinery designer and manufacturer, has reported operating profits of $49m (€45m) over the first three months of 2017 – a stark improvement from the $513m loss during the same period last year.

Revenues rose by 5.8% year-on-year to $5.68bn, while the company also reported net sales in its agricultural equipment segment up 10.5% year-on-year, driven by a strong demand in Latin America.

Revenues in North America and Europe were on par with the same period last year as CNH noted a weak demand environment, offset by positive pricing.

Outlook

Better-than-expected first-quarter results have caused the Case and New Holland manufacturer to leave its 2017 outlook unchanged, with expected net sales remaining at over $23bn.

The company did lower its expectations of Latin American combine sales. In Europe, CNH pegged agricultural equipment sales as unchanged year-on-year in 2017, where it was previously expecting a slight drop.

CNH Industrial is one of the world’s largest capital goods companies, owning a range of agricultural brands such as Case, New Holland and Steyr.

Read more

Getting the grass right to make the cut