Cummins’ Third-Quarter Profit Drops

Diesel engine maker Cummins Inc. said Friday its third-quarter profit fell 59% due to sharply lower demand for its engines and other products.

The company’s net income fell to $95 million, or 48 cents a share, from $229 million, or $1.17, a year ago, while sales fell 31% to $2.53 billion.

The engine segment saw the worst declines in sales, along with the power generation segment. Engine sales fell 37% to $1.44 billion.

Cummins’ engine joint venture in China saw declining sales due to lower demand.

“While we saw improvement in some markets in the third quarter, we expect the economic climate to remain challenging until late 2010 – especially in the United States and Europe,” Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Tim Solso said.

“As we look ahead to the recovery, however, Cummins continues to be extremely well positioned to take advantage of a number of opportunities and market trends that offer the potential for significant long-term growth,” he said in a statement.