China a sweet spot for US companies’ earnings in Q2

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Trade tensions between Washington and Beijing may be running high, but Corporate America is finding China to be a reliable source of profit growth this year.

Whether they sell construction equipment, semiconductors or coffee, many major US companies have reported stronger second-quarter earnings and revenue from their Chinese operations in recent weeks.

They are benefiting from a Chinese economy that is growing at almost seven percent, several times the rate of US expansion, a Chinese housing boom, and a slide in the US dollar, which makes American exports more competitive and increases dollar earnings once they are translated from foreign currencies.

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s ambitious plan to build a new Silk Road that will improve links between China and dozens of countries in Asia and Europe, and includes many billions of dollars of new roads, bridges, railways and power plants – is also helping American firms to sell heavy equipment and other products.

Caterpillar Inc., a bellwether for industrial demand in China and beyond, reported its sales in AsiaPacific rose 25 percent in the second quarter – thanks to China. Shipments of large excavators to Chinese customers more than doubled in the first half of the year.

"We now expect demand in China to remain strong through the rest of the year," Brad Halverson, Caterpillar's group president and chief financial officer, told investors.

Caterpillar’s Japanese rivals Komatsu and Hitachi Construction Machinery Co. reported similar strength in demand for heavy machinery. Komatsu's China sales almost doubled in the firm's April-June quarter.

“China's grown pretty well relative to the US over this period and the currency's relationship has changed in favor of the US companies,” said Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at the Leuthold Group in Minneapolis.