Finning International Inc. , the world's largest Caterpillar heavy equipment dealer, says it earned $50-million in the fourth quarter — more than double its year-earlier profit.
The Vancouver-based company said Wednesday that the profit for the last three months of 2010 amounted to 29 cents a share, up from 13 cents or $22-million a year ago.
The results for the latest quarter included a charge of 4 cents a share related to Finning's investments and 3 cents a share linked to a new IT system. Foreign exchange also shaved 3 cents a share.
Revenue totalled $1.37-billion, up from $1.08-billion.
President and chief executive officer Mike Waites said the results were in line with the company's expectations.
"We expect good top-line growth in 2011 and beyond, reflecting robust commodity markets," Mr. Waites said in a statement.
He said Finning is continuing to invest in its product lineup and service capability to support customer demand.
Last summer, Finning expanded its operations in Britain to become the official Caterpillar distributor for Northern Ireland. In a separate agreement, it also negotiated a similar deal for the Republic of Ireland.
Finning rents and services giant dump trucks, backhauls and other equipment to mining companies, oil sands operators, construction companies and others around the world.
In Canada, the company operates in British Columbia, Alberta, the Yukon Territory, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Internationally, Finning has businesses in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Uruguay, and Britain.