Cummins says sales growth to slow after robust 2018

Columbus-based Cummins Inc., which posted a 16 percent revenue increase in 2018, said Wednesday that this year will be much tougher, with revenue likely coming in between flat and up 4 percent.

The engine-maker said 2018 revenue reached a record $23.8 billion. Profit for the year was $2.1 billion, or $13.15 per share.

Fourth-quarter revenue was $6.1 billion, up 12 percent from the same period a year earlier. Cummins attributed the sales growth to increased North American truck production and stronger global demand in the construction and power generation markets.

Fourth-quarter profit was $579 million, or $3.63 per share—shy of the consensus estimate from analysts of $3.81 per share. 

Excluding the effects of federal tax reform, which caused Cummins to take a one-time charge of $777 million in the fourth quarter of 2017, the company’s year-ago profit would have been $503 million, or $3.03 per share. 

At midday Wednesday, Cummins shares were trading at $148.06, down 1.2 percent from Tuesday’s close. Shares have traded between $124.40 and $179.67 over the past year.