MOLINE, Illinois (November 26, 2014) — Net income attributable to Deere & Company was $649.2 million, or $1.83 per share, for the fourth quarter ended October 31, compared with $806.8 million, or $2.11 per share, for the same period of 2013. For fiscal 2014, net income attributable to Deere & Company was $3.162 billion, or $8.63 per share, compared with $3.537 billion, or $9.09 per share, in 2013.

Worldwide net sales and revenues decreased 5 percent, to $8.965 billion, for the fourth quarter and were down 5 percent, to $36.067 billion, for the full year. Net sales of the equipment operations were $8.043 billion for the quarter and $32.961 billion for the year, compared with $8.624 billion and $34.998 billion for the same periods in 2013.

"John Deere has completed another year of solid performance in spite of weaker conditions in the global farm sector, which caused sales and earnings to decline from the record totals of 2013," said Samuel R. Allen, chairman and chief executive officer. "The slowdown has been most pronounced in the sale of large farm machinery, including many of our most profitable models. Nevertheless, our success managing costs and assets and establishing a broad-based business lineup has allowed us to deliver strong results and remain in a sound financial condition."

Further, Allen noted that the company produced healthy levels of cash flow for the year, much of which was returned to investors in the form of dividends and share repurchases. Dividends and buybacks in 2014 totaled a record $3.5 billion.

Company Outlook & Summary

Company equipment sales are projected to decrease about 15 percent for fiscal 2015 and to be down about 21 percent for the first quarter compared with year-ago periods. For fiscal 2015, net income attributable to Deere & Company is anticipated to be about $1.9 billion.

"Even with a significant decline in sales and a continued pullback in the global agricultural sector, John Deere expects to remain solidly profitable in 2015," Allen said. "The company's earnings forecast reflects the impact of our efforts to establish a more resilient business model and it represents a level of performance much better than we've seen in prior downturns."

Longer term, the company's future continues to hold great promise, Allen said. "Global trends based on population growth and rising living standards remain intact and are largely unaffected by periodic swings in the farm economy. At the same time, Deere's plans for serving a larger global customer base are making good progress. As a result, we are confident the company is positioned to earn solid returns throughout the business cycle and to realize substantial benefits from the world’s growing need for food, shelter and infrastructure in the years ahead."

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