According to the news report by MarketWatch, Caterpillar Inc. has been once again named to the 2018 Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI). The company has been included in both the indices, namely, the Worth and the North American indices. This is now the 19th time that Caterpillar’s name has been included in the two major indices.
The Sustainability Indices were launched in 1999 and is maintained by the S&P Dow Jones Indices in partnership with RobecoSAM, a German investment specialist that carries out in-depth research related to sustainability on thousands of global-market-capitalization industry leaders each year. These indices consist of the top 10% of the largest stocks listed on the S&P Global Market Index that have the best sustainability and environmental practices.
The DJSI World Index covers dozens of different industry groups across the globe and has members across more than 20 countries. This index has also been licensed by numerous private wealth managers, who use the DJSI as a benchmark, and have billions worth of assets under management anchored to it. This is because an increased number of investors are looking to invest in companies that are socially and environmentally conscious.
According to Caterpillar’s Chief Executive Officer, Jim Umpleby, Caterpillar gives solutions to their customers so that they in turn can build a better world. He clarified what he meant by “a better world”. He said that this meant employing sustainable practices as well as products. He said that one of the core values of the company was to incorporate sustainability in every aspect of their operations, including design, manufacturing and delivery. Umpleby stated that they were proud of the progress that had been made and Caterpillar will continuously strive to improve.
According to Seeking Alpha, Caterpillar reported a 23% year-on-year increase in its global machine sales for the rolling three months that ended in August 2018. This number is more or less flat from results from the months of June and July.
Caterpillar’s North American region overtook the Asia Pacific region, showing 29% year-on-year growth rates for August. In June growth was at 27%, while in July sales went up by 22%.
The Asia Pacific region, however, has seen a deceleration in sales growth. August saw growth rates of 28%, down from 30% the previous month and 37% in June. In Latin American Caterpillar saw a sales growth of 18%. Sales growth in Europe and the Middle East was the worst performing, dropping to just 9% growth rates.
The Energy and Transportation division of the company reported an overall growth of 11% in sales for the month of August. In the breakup, oil & gas saw a jump of 30% in sales, power generation saw a growth of 12%, but transportation saw a drop in sales by 4% and industrial sales fell by 8% for the month.
Caterpillar’s global sales in Resource Industries gained by 35%. This included growth of 30% in the North American region, and a massive 77% growth in the Asia Pacific region.
In the construction industries, worldwide sales went up by 21%, while regionally, North America saw a 30% growth in their sales and Asia Pacific went up by 19% in sales. Total Energy and Transportation retail sales also gained by an overall 16%.
Due to overall worldwide deceleration in sales, Caterpillar’s stocks dropped by 0.1% during the morning’s trading. In the last 3 months, the construction giant’s stocks have fallen by 5.1%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 4% in the same time period.
In the last 3 months, Caterpillar’s stocks are one of the 6 in the 30-component Dow Jones index to have showed declines.
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