According to the press release:
Caterpillar Inc. reported a second-quarter profit of $0.60 per share, down $1.14 per share from the second quarter of 2008… The second-quarter profit of $371 million was down $735 million from $1.106 billion in the second quarter of 2008. The decline was largely a result of lower sales volume and $85 million of redundancy costs. These negative impacts were partially offset by lower Selling, General and Administrative (SG&A) and Research and Development (R&D) expenses, favorable price realization, LIFO inventory decrement benefits and a lower tax rate.
In addition to profit, Caterpillar is highly focused on delivering positive cash flow in 2009 and is committed to its $3 billion inventory reduction goal for the year. Utilizing the Caterpillar Production System (CPS) with 6 Sigma, the company reduced inventory in the second quarter by more than $800 million, and through the first half of the year inventory has declined by more than $1.6 billion.
