Deere & Company reported $641.8 million in net income during fiscal Q3/17, which was up 31% compared to the $488.8 million reported during the same time period in 2016. In the first nine months of 2017, income reached $1.649 billion, up from $1.239 billion during the same time in 2016.

Worldwide net sales and revenues increased 16% to $7.808 billion in Q3/17 and 8% to $21.720 billion in the first nine months of the fiscal year. Net sales of equipment operations were $6.833 billion in Q3/17 and $18.791 billion for the first nine months, up 17% and 6% year over year, respectively.

Deere’s financial services section registered $131.2 million in net income in Q3/17, which was up from the $125.9 million recorded in Q3/16. Even with the increase in the quarter, there was still a drop in income for the first nine months of 2017 ($349.1 million) when compared to the same time year ago period ($357.9 million). Deere pointed to lower losses on lease residual values, which were partially offset by a higher provision for credit losses and higher selling, administrative and general expenses to explain the positive results in the quarter. Less favorable financing spreads and expenses were only partially offset by lower losses on lease residual values, which caused the fall in year to date results.

There was an 11% increase in equipment net sales in the U.S. in Canada during Q3/17, but sales have been mainly flat during the first nine months, falling just 1% below the results of a year ago. Net sales outside of the U.S. and Canada have increased at higher levels of 25% and 17% during Q3/17 and the first nine months, respectively.

Deere projects a 10% increase in equipment sales in fiscal 2017 and a 24% boost in sales in Q4/17. In addition, Deere expects net sales to rise 11% for the entire fiscal year.

“John Deere reported another quarter of strong performance as the company continued to benefit from improving market conditions throughout the world,” said Samuel R. Allen, Deere’s chairman and CEO. “We are seeing higher overall demand for our products with farm machinery sales in South America experiencing strong gains and construction equipment sales rising sharply. Deere’s performance also is being assisted by an advanced product portfolio and the continuing impact of a flexible cost structure and lean asset base.”