Owens comments on future

Caterpillar's Chairman and CEO Jim Owens recently commented on the company's financial performance expectations for the future: "The 2009 economic outlook is extremely uncertain at this time, with substantial turmoil in financial markets and unprecedented government intervention around the world," Owens said. "Our current outlook for 2009 calls for sales and revenues to be about flat with our full-year 2008 results. In 2009 we expect pockets of strength in global mining, energy markets and in the area of emerging market infrastructure development to offset acute weakness in North America, Europe and Japan. Further, we are confident that our integrated service businesses, which have grown significantly this year, will offer revenue and earnings support in the coming year. That said, given the recent economic turmoil, we will issue our 2009 profit per share outlook with our year-end release in January. The world has experienced significant turbulence in financial markets, and we expect this will slow world economic growth over the next three or four quarters. While we are encouraged by the coordinated response by governments and central banks around the world and believe the actions they've taken will restore global liquidity, the depth and duration of economic decline and the timing and strength of the recovery are very uncertain. Caterpillar is prepared for volatility, and we remain very positive about our longer-term growth prospects. With our financial strength, global manufacturing and distribution network, our focus on the Caterpillar Production System powered by 6 Sigma and our diversified business portfolio, Caterpillar is poised to strengthen its global leadership position during this challenging period," Owens added.