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Shares of Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) rose $1.85 to $146.80 after the company reported Q4 EPS results above the consensus estimate.
Deere, the world's largest agricultural machinery company, reported Q4 EPS of $1.88, well above the Reuters consensus estimate of $1.54. Deere earned $1.20 in Q4 2006. The company reported Q4 revenue of $6.12 billion, compared to the Reuters consensus estimate of $5.24 billion.
Deere said profits from tractors, harvesters and combines almost tripled to $388 million on strong demand for advanced machinery from Brazil and Eastern Europe. In addition, the company said higher U.S. farm incomes helped boost North American sales of tractors and combines.
For the full year, Deere reported EPS of $8.01, on revenue of $24.1 billion, compared to the Reuters consensus estimates of $7.66 and $21.3 billion, respectively.
Deere investors voted last week to approve a 2-for-1 stock split, the first stock split since 1995.
Stock Analysis: Deere's agriculture equipment sales represents the key metric in the Q4 report. Farm sales should continue to remain strong in Q1/Q2 2008, which will help offset weakness in construction equipment. Further, look for DE's international sales in 2008 to continue to bolster results, amid ongoing, sub-trend U.S. GDP growth.
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