Deere & Company reported net income of $784.8 million for the fourth quarter ended October 28, 2018 compared with net income of $510.3 million for the quarter ended October 29, 2017. For fiscal 2018, net income attributable to Deere & Company was $2.368 billion compared with $2.159 billion in 2017.

Affecting results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2018 were adjustments to the provision for income taxes due to the enactment of U.S. tax reform legislation on December 22, 2017. Fourth-quarter results included a favorable net adjustment to income taxes of $37 million, while the full year reflected an unfavorable net income tax expense of $704 million. Without these adjustments, net income attributable to Deere & Company for the fourth quarter and full year would have been $748 million, or $2.30 per share, and $3.073 billion, or $9.39 per share, respectively.

Worldwide net sales and revenues increased 17%, to $9.416 billion, for the fourth quarter and rose 26%, to $37.358 billion, for the full year. Net sales of the equipment operations were $8.343 billion for the quarter and $33.351 billion for the year, compared with respective totals of $7.094 billion and $25.885 billion in 2017.
Net sales of the worldwide equipment operations increased 18% for the quarter and 29% for the full year compared with the same periods in 2017. Deere’s acquisition of the Wirtgen Group (Wirtgen) in December 2017 added 11% to net sales for the quarter and 12% for the year.

Equipment net sales in the United States and Canada increased by 21% for the quarter and 25% for the year, with Wirtgen adding 4% for both periods. Outside of the U.S. and Canada, net sales rose 13% for the quarter and 34% for the year, with Wirtgen adding 19% and 22% for the respective periods. Currency translation had a negative effect of 7% on net sales outside the U.S. and Canada for the quarter, but had no material effect for the year.

“John Deere has concluded another solid year in which the company benefited from a further improvement in market conditions and a favorable customer response to its lineup of advanced products,” said Samuel R. Allen, chairman and chief executive officer. “In the fourth quarter, farm machinery sales in the Americas made further gains while construction-equipment sales continued to move higher, helped in part by our Wirtgen road-building business, whose financial contribution has exceeded our original forecasts. At the same time, the company has continued to face cost pressures for raw materials such as steel, which are being addressed through pricing actions and ongoing cost management.”