Cat’s board of directors raises quarterly cash dividend

The Board of Directors of Caterpillar Inc. voted to raise the quarterly cash dividend by 2 cents to 46 cents per share of common stock, payable Aug. 20, 2011, to stockholders of record at the close of business, July 20, 2011.

“This dividend increase is another example of Caterpillar’s commitment to increasing value for our stockholders,” said Caterpillar Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Doug Oberhelman. “In addition to increasing the dividend, our focus on cash flow and the strength of our financial position enabled us to finance the Bucyrus acquisition without the need for equity and is enabling substantial investment to prepare Caterpillar for the developing improvement in the business cycle and to achieve our long-term financial goals,” Oberhelman added.

“It looks like 2011 will be a good year with demand for our products continuing to improve and our focus squarely on execution and controlling costs. As a result, we are reaffirming our financial outlook for 2011. We expect sales and revenues in a range from $52 to $54 billion and profit between $6.25 and $6.75 per share,” Oberhelman added.

“As we look ahead there are tremendous opportunities for Caterpillar in all geographies and across our entire product range. That’s why over the past year we’ve announced a number of investments to increase production capacity and improve product support for our growing base of customers around the world. We have also announced three, large strategic acquisitions, and are investing heavily in product development to position Caterpillar to fully capitalize on these opportunities,” Oberhelman added.

The 46 cents dividend is a 5 percent increase over the previous rate of $0.44
per share. For 18 years in a row, Caterpillar has paid higher dividends to its stockholders,
and since 1998, the company’s cash dividend has more than tripled. Including the announcement today, Caterpillar has paid a cash dividend every year since the company
was formed in 1925 and has paid a dividend every quarter since November 1933.