Caterpillar Inc. announced first-quarter 2021 sales and revenues of $11.9 billion, a 12 percent increase compared with $10.6 billion in the first quarter of 2020. The increase was due to higher sales volume driven by higher end-user demand and the impact from changes in dealer inventories. Dealers increased their inventories more during the first quarter of 2021 than during the first quarter of 2020.
Operating profit margin was 15.3 percent for the first quarter of 2021, compared with 13.2 percent for the first quarter of 2020. First-quarter 2021 profit per share was $2.77, compared with $1.98 profit per share in the first quarter of 2020. Adjusted profit per share in the first quarter of 2021 was $2.87, compared with first-quarter 2020 adjusted profit per share of $1.65. Adjusted profit per share for both quarters excluded restructuring costs, while the first quarter of 2020 also excluded a remeasurement gain of $0.38 per share resulting from the settlement of a non-U.S. pension obligation.
For the three months ended March 31, 2021, enterprise operating cash flow was $1.9 billion. Caterpillar ended the first quarter with $11.3 billion of enterprise cash.
"I'm proud of our global team's strong performance as they continue to serve our customers," said Caterpillar Chairman and CEO Jim Umpleby. "We're encouraged by improving conditions in our end markets and are proactively managing supply chain risks. Our dedicated team continues to execute our strategy for long-term profitable growth."
