By Nick Carey
CHICAGO (Reuters) - CATERPILLAR (CAT.NY)Inc
"We're still very much focused on market share but ... the competition for every deal has got greater as we've seen the dollar strengthen," chief executive Doug Oberhelman said in a call with analysts.
Caterpillar shares were down 1 percent in midday trading.
The world's largest construction and mining equipment maker reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit despite lower sales. It maintained its sales for 2015 and full-year earnings per share forecasts.
Peoria, Illinois-based Caterpillar said the strong dollar lowered the cost of imported goods in the first quarter, especially from Japan, but could weigh on results through year end. The company also reported a pre-tax gain of $120 million from the sale of a third-party logistics business.
The company said it expected sales and profit for the remaining three quarters of the year to be lower than the reporting period just ended.
Caterpillar reported first-quarter net income of $1.11 billion or $1.81 per share, up 20 percent from $922 million or $1.44 per share a year earlier. Excluding restructuring costs, earnings per share totaled $1.86.
Analysts expected earnings per share of $1.35, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
The profit beat came despite a 4 percent decline in sales to $12.7 billion from $13.24 billion a year earlier. That also beat analyst estimates of $12.38 billion.
Caterpillar's energy and transportation sales rose slightly, but the company said that was unlikely to continue amid low oil prices.
The company said it expected global gross domestic product growth to hit 2.7 percent in 2015, slightly higher than the 2.6 percent growth in 2014.
But it said "significant risks and uncertainties" could temper growth. These include political conflicts and social unrest in the Middle East, Africa and the former Soviet Union.
Caterpillar said "ongoing uncertainty around the direction and timing of U.S. fiscal and monetary policy actions may temper business confidence."
"We continue to face headwinds and uncertainty in 2015, and our outlook for the year reflects that," Oberhelman said in a statement.
Caterpillar maintained its 2015 sales outlook of $50 billion and raised its earnings per share forecast to $4.70 from its previous forecast of $4.60.
Caterpillar shares were down 87 cents or 1 percent at $84.
(Editing by Alden Bentley and Ted Botha)
