Caterpillar Second-Quarter Profit Up by 91 Percent

Caterpillar lifted markets Thursday morning after announcing a 91 percent increase in profits over last year’s second quarter.

In a press release, the company stated that “sales and revenues of $10.409 billion were up 31 percent from $7.975 billion in the second quarter of 2009.”

The company is raising its profit expectations for 2010, expecting revenues in the range of $39 to $42 billion. The economic outlook is generally positive.

“While there are significant economic concerns around the world that we are watching closely, orders have continued to outpace our shipments, and we expect to increase production in the second half of the year,” said Caterpillar CEO Doug Oberhelman in a written statement.

“We continue to be very positive about the longer-term prospects for many of the industries we serve—like mining, energy, infrastructure, electric power and rail. This year we have made several announcements related to increasing capacity and expanding our line-up of products and services.”

The company announced strategic initiatives to meet international demand. A multi-year investment of nearly $700 million supporting mining customers, including a full line of mining shovels and capacity expansion for mining trucks made in the United States and India, and a 400-percent increase in excavator production capacity over the next several years in China.