Caterpillar posts Q2 profit

Caterpillar Inc. on Thursday reported secondquarter profit of US$ 710 million. On a per- share basis, it said it had a profit of US$ 1.16. Earnings, adjusted for restructuring costs, were US$ 1.27 per share. The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of US$ 1.25 per share. Caterpillar shares have fallen 13 per cent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index has increased almost three per cent. The stock has dropped 26 per cent in the past 12 months.