Deere & Co, the maker of John Deere machinery, saw operating profits surge by more than a third (+37%) to $3.5bn for its 2017 financial year to the end of October. Profit margins widened from 9.7% last year to 11.9% in 2017.

Turnover for the year increased 12% to $29.7bn, with agricultural machinery accounting for over two-thirds (68%) of sales and 70% of profits.

The maker of the famous green tractors said it had benefited from higher sales volumes of machinery and better price realisation, particularly in South America. A weaker US dollar also benefited sales in 2017. The increase in unit sales volumes led to an increase in production costs.

Samuel Allen, chairman and chief executive of Deere & Co, described 2017 as a successful year for the company, with farm machinery sales in South America making very strong gains.

Deere said it is forecasting sales to improve a further 19% in 2018 thanks to higher prices for key agricultural commodities such as corn (maize), soyabeans and wheat.

In North America, Deere is forecasting a 5% to 10% increase in sales of agricultural machinery for the coming year, while machinery sales in Europe are forecast to improve 5%.

In South America, the company expects further growth in demand in 2018 with sales forecast to rise another 5%.

Shares in John Deere have almost increased 50% in the last year.