April 24, 2006 9:30 AM, EDT

Caterpillar’s First-Quarter Profit Jumps 45%

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ngine and heavy-equipment manufacturer Caterpillar Inc.’s first-quarter profit jumped 45% to $840 million or $1.20 a share, from $581 million or 81 cents a year ago, it reported Monday.

The gain followed a 54% income surge in the fourth quarter. First-quarter sales rose 13% to $8.74 billion, the company said in a statement.

Caterpillar boosted its 2006 earnings forecast to $4.85 to $5.20 a share, from an earlier forecast of $4.65 to $5 a share.

The full-year sales forecast was unchanged at $40 billion, which would be an increase from last year’s sales of $36.3 billion.

aterpillar has raised its prices as much as 13% in the past two years as plants ran at full capacity to meet demand, particularly for mining equipment, Bloomberg reported.

Engine sales gained 10% to $2.63 billion, Caterpillar said. It makes the advanced combustion emissions reduction technology, or Acert, diesel engine for trucks.

In March, the company announced a partnership with Mitsubishi Electric Corp. to produce a line of electric-drive mining trucks, which it said would be more profitable than traditional models.

(Click here for previous coverage.)