Deere Q2 sales and income up

Moline, Ill.-based Deere & Co. posted net income of $547.5 million for the second quarter ended April 30. This is up 16% from $472.3 million in the same period last year.

Net sales increased 6% to $7.131 billion for the second quarter. Sales of the equipment operations were $6.548 billion for the quarter, up 6% from $6.187 billion for the second quarter of 2009.

Second-quarter results were affected by a tax charge of $129.5 million due to the enactment of U.S. healthcare legislation. Without this, earnings would have been $677.0 million.

For the first six months of the year, net income totaled $790.7 million, up 17% from $676.2 million in the prior-year period. Net sales were up 1% to $11.97 billion for the six months.

"We're proud of John Deere's strong results, reflecting a disciplined approach to cost and asset management and the solid execution by employees of our business model," said Samuel Allen, chairman and CEO. "These actions are helping us extend our competitive advantage and fully capitalize on improving business conditions."

Allen added that sales of large farm machinery, especially in the United States and Canada, positively affected the company's performance, while construction and forestry shipments are rebounding from historic lows.