Deere sets earnings record

Deere and company set another record with profits this fiscal quarter. Deere spokesman Ken Golden says it didn’t hurt that farm income hit a record high last year. Golden says Deere’s worked hard to transform itself, running with lower assets, more effectively and efficiently, resulting in improved profitability. He says business is up, so the record income is a combination of business improvements and market improvements. That’s not all — Golden says 2005 is expected to be a year of achievement for the implement maker. He says they look forward to this as a year that could set a record…at least that’s what’s being projected right now. Among factors contributing to the good year — the company’s selling its lawn care, farming, mining and forestry equipment at full price, and doesn’t have to discount it. Net income was also up in Deere’s financial-services operations. John Deere Credit, headquartered in the Des Moines suburb of Urbandale, is the worldwide financing arm of the company, he explains. Deere has 12-thousand workers in Iowa, 46-thousand worldwide. Golden notes the company’s had five straight record quarters, 13 quarters of improvement in all, and says the hard work of the employees has paid off. The company’s outlook for this year is a net profit of nearly one-point-six Billion dollars.