Caterpillar reported Q4/14 profit of $757 million was down 25% from $1,003 million a year earlier. The machinery maker said restructuring costs of $97 million had an after-tax impact of $0.12 per share. Profit per share, excluding restructuring costs, was $1.35, compared with profit per share of $1.54 in Q4/13. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected a Q4 EPS of $1.55.

Caterpillar said Q4/14 sales and revenues of $14.2 billion were off slightly from $14.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2013. Sales and revenues for the full-year 2014 were $55.18 billion, down from $55.66 billion in 2013.

Caterpillar chairman and CEO Dough Oberhelman said, “It was a great year for Energy & Transportation with record sales and profit. Sales were also up and profit improved substantially in Construction Industries. The increase in Construction Industries’ sales was primarily in North America and was partially offset by sales declines in other regions. While our construction sales were up in 2014, the industry is still well below prior peaks in every major region due to relatively weak economic growth for most of the world.”

Oberhelman added, “Prices for key mined commodities, particularly copper, coal and iron ore, declined in 2014. Weakening commodity prices, along with improved mine productivity, led to lower sales for Resource Industries. We haven’t seen evidence of an upturn in equipment orders yet—and sales of mining equipment remain depressed.”

In his outlook for 2015, Oberhelman said, “We expect world economic growth to only improve modestly in 2015. The relatively slow growth in the world economy and continued weakness in commodity prices — particularly oil, copper, coal and iron ore — are expected to be negative for our sales. We expect sales and revenues in 2015 to be about $50 billion.”

Oberhelman added, “The recent dramatic decline in the price of oil is the most significant reason for the year-over-year decline in our sales and revenues outlook. Current oil prices are a significant headwind for Energy & Transportation and negative for our construction business in the oil producing regions of the world. In addition, with lower prices for copper, coal and iron ore, we’ve reduced our expectations for sales of mining equipment. We’ve also lowered our expectations for construction equipment sales in China. While our market position in China has improved, 2015 expectations for the construction industry in China are lower.”

“While we are, without a doubt, facing a tough year in 2015, we’re driving cost management through additional restructuring actions and continued operational improvements gained from our focus on Lean Management. While 2015 will be difficult, the work we’ve done to improve our cost structure, market position and quality will position us for better results when the world economy and the key industries we serve improve,” Oberhelman added.

To view the full Caterpillar news release, click here.