Caterpillar’s First-Quarter Profit Drops, Revises Outlook for Year Down

Heavy-equipment maker Caterpillar Inc.’s first-quarter profit fell to $880 million, or $1.31 a share, from $1.59 billion, or $2.37, a year ago, on lower sales and production and revised its outlook for the year down.

Sales fell 17% to $13.2 billion, the company said Monday.

Caterpillar, the largest maker of earth-moving equipment, revised its 2013 profit-per-share outlook to about $7 per share from $7 to $9 per share and said sales will be $57 billion to $61 billion, down from a previous outlook of $60 billion to $68 billion.

Caterpillar produces a line of severe-service trucks in partnership with Navistar International Corp.