CNH Industrial raises full-year revenue forecast after strong Q3

MILAN (Reuters) -Farming and construction machine maker CNH Industrial is betting on strong demand in agricultural business and pricing power to counter inflation effects and a still-challenging supply chain situation as it raised forecasts for this year's revenue.

Presenting on Tuesday an above-estimates operating profit for the third quarter, CEO Scott Wine said order books remained "robust" as prices for soft commodities continued to support global agriculture and many construction end markets sustained their strength.

"Indications are still for a strong cycle in agriculture, with sustained demand for most products," Wine said.

"We are closely watching for any recession-related shifts in purchasing behaviour," he added.

Wine said prices of soft commodities declined in the third quarter but remained above pre-pandemic and end-2021 levels.

CFO Oddone Incisa told analysts the company expected to be able to maintain pricing levels into next year.

Milan-listed shares in CNH Industrial rose as much as 7% on Tuesday after the Italian-American manufacturer said net sales of industrial activities would grow between 16-18% this year, despite foreign exchange rates headwinds, versus a previous forecast for growth of between 12-14%.

They closed up 5.7%.

Wine said however that coming quarters would still be complicated, amid "significant" challenges persisting with global supply chains, despite ongoing modest improvements, currency volatility and inflation which he described as "relentless".

In the third quarter, CNH's adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of industrial activities rose to $670 million from a pro-forma $420 million a year earlier, when truckmaking business Iveco was still part of the group.

That topped analyst expectations of $502 million, based on a Reuters poll.

Agriculture business accounted for over 80% of CNH's industrial revenues in the quarter and for virtually all of its operating earnings.

Increased production costs weighed on the quarter's result for $539 million, but they were more than offset by a positive effect from net pricing worth $723 million, the company said.

Margin on adjusted EBIT rose 270 basis points in the quarter, to 12.4%.

(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari, Editing by Cristina Carlevaro, Jane Merriman, Tomasz Janowski and Andrea Ricci)