Deere beats on earnings and boosts its forecast for the year

Deere boosted its forecast for sales this year amid more demand for its farming equipment.

The company said Friday that "improving market conditions throughout the world" contributed to a 31.1% year-over-year increase in profits. The global agriculture industry is working its way out of a recession that was triggered by crop surpluses and weaker commodity prices.

"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," said Samuel Allen, John Deere's CEO.

Deere said it saw full-year net sales at $2.08 billion, up from $2 billion and higher than analysts' estimate for $2.03 billion. It expected equipment sales to rise 10%, up from an earlier forecast of 9%.

Net sales were lighter than expected, at $6.83 billion versus $6.91 forecast. Deere's shares fell by as much as 3% in premarket trading.

Net income beat, however, coming in at $1.97 per share versus $1.95 expected.