(Reuters) -Deere & Co reported a 69% rise in fourth-quarter profit on Wednesday as solid demand for its tractors and combines from farmers cushioned the impact of a worker strike.
Farmers’ income has surged this year on the back of soaring crop and livestock prices, encouraging them to replace older equipment despite price hikes by manufacturers.
Deere said sales of its large and some medium equipment jumped 23% in the quarter, while sales of smaller farm and turf equipment rose 17%.
The jump came even as its operations took a hit for about three weeks from a strike by workers demanding better pay.
Net income rose to $1.28 billion from $757 million a year earlier.
Total net sales and revenue rose to $11.33 billion from $9.73 billion.
(Reporting by Abhijith Ganapavaram in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni)
