CHICAGO (Reuters) - Deere & Co reported a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday as sales of its tractors and harvesters in North America and other markets offset continued poor demand in Europe.
The world's largest maker of farm equipment reported a fiscal fourth-quarter profit of $457.2 million, or $1.07 a share. Deere posted a net loss of $222.8 million, or 53 cents a share, a year earlier.
Sales rose 35 percent to $7.2 billion.
Analysts on average expected the Moline, Illinois-based company to report a profit of 95 cents a share on sales of $6.25 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Deere in its preliminary forecast for fiscal 2011 said it expects a full-year profit of $2.1 billion. Analysts on average expected $2.42 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
(Reporting by James Kelleher. Editing by Robert MacMillan)
