CNH Industrial N.V. (NYSE: CNH) today reported results for the three months ended September 30, 2024, with net income of $310 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.24 compared with net income of $540 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.40 for the three months ended September 30, 2023. Consolidated revenues were $4.65 billion (down 22% compared to Q3 2023) and Net sales of Industrial Activities were $4.00 billion (down 25% compared to Q3 2023). Net cash provided by operating activities was $791 million and Industrial Free Cash Flow absorption was $180 million in Q3 2024.
“With the current challenging market conditions facing farmers across the globe, CNH is implementing decisions to advance our transformation journey. We have focused on making the Company’s operations more efficient and on being more responsive to our customers’ needs. But dealer inventories remain elevated and will require additional efforts to align with retail demand. As we further adjust production levels while making investments in technology and quality-improving processes, we are positioning ourselves for the long term and cementing our leading position in the industry. We look forward to sharing more details of our strategy at our investor day on May 8, 2025.”
The decline in Net sales of Industrial Activities is mainly due to lower shipments on decreased industry demand and reduced dealer inventory requirements.
In North America, industry volume was down 18% year-over-year in the third quarter for tractors under 140 HP and was down 17% for tractors over 140 HP; combines were down 29%. In Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), tractor and combine demand was down 20% and 50%, respectively. South America tractor and combine demand was down 12% and 32%, respectively, continuing the negative trend of previous quarters. Asia Pacific tractor demand was up 1%, while combine demand was down 33%.
Agriculture net sales decreased for the quarter by 24% to $3.31 billion, primarily due to lower shipment volumes on decreased industry demand, dealer inventory unit requirements across all regions and unfavorable net price realization due to enhanced retail actions.
2024 Outlook
The Company’s forecast of continued weak industry retail demand in both the agriculture and construction equipment markets, coupled with elevated dealer inventories is requiring lower production levels. CNH will further reduce production output to manage channel inventory while continuing its efforts to improve through-cycle margins with its successful cost reduction programs. Due to the lower productions levels, the Company is revising its segment net sales and margins and its EPS results. In addition, because of the adverse net working capital impact from lowering production levels, the Company is lowering its Industrial Free Cash Flow forecast. The updated Agriculture adjusted EBIT margin and adjusted diluted EPS outlook also reflect the revision for highly inflationary accounting.
CNH is updating its 2024 outlook as follows: • Agriculture segment net sales(5) down between 22% and 23% year-over-year including currency translation effects (from down 15% to 20% previously)
- Agriculture segment adjusted EBIT margin between 10.5% and 11.5% (from between 13.0% and 14.0% previously); around 70 bps of the change relates to the accounting revision
- Construction segment net sales(5) down between 21% and 22% year-over-year including currency translation effects (from down 15% to 20% previously)
- Construction segment adjusted EBIT margin between 5.0% and 6.0% (unchanged)
- Free Cash Flow of Industrial Activities(6) an outflow of between $100 million to $300 million, down from the previous guidance of an inflow between $700 to $900 million, mainly due to decreased equipment deliveries and the lower production levels
- Adjusted diluted EPS(6) between $1.05 to $1.15 (from between $1.30 to $1.40 previously); around $0.08 of the change relates to the accounting revision
