Komatsu Cuts Full-Year Profit Outlook 17% as China Sales Drop

Major competitors in China -- Hitachi, Sany -- also trimmed outlooks, while Caterpillar raised profit expectations on rising North American and mining business

Komatsu Ltd., the world’s second-biggest maker of construction equipment, cut its annual profit forecast after first-quarter earnings dropped 42 percent on lower sales in China and a slowdown in Indonesia demand.

Hitachi Construction Machinery, Japan’s second-largest heavy-equipment producer, cut its operating profit forecast 7.7 percent, citing delays in an expected recovery in China. And Sany Heavy Industry, China’s biggest maker of excavators, lowered its excavator sales forecast from 40 percent growth to 10 percent this year.

Caterpillar, Komatsu’s larger U.S. rival and the world's largest equipment maker, raised its full-year profit outlook for the second time this year on increasing demand from North American builders and overseas mining companies.

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