Deere's profit falls; projects sales drop

MOLINE, Ill. - Deere (DE) is reporting a 9.5 percent decline in second-quarter net income on lower demand for farming equipment.

With farmer income projected to decline, Deere says sales of agriculture and turf equipment could fall about 7 percent this year. The company expects a 4 percent drop in equipment revenue for fiscal 2014, the same decrease it's expecting for the current quarter.

While the company beat Wall Street expectations on both profit and revenue, shares slid about 1 percent before the opening bell Wednesday.

Net income fell to $980.7 million, or $2.65 per share, compared with $1.08 billion, or $2.76 per share, in the same quarter a year ago.

Revenue fell 8.9 percent to $9.95 billion.

Shares of the Deere & Co., based in Moline, slipped $1.11 to $92.50 in premarket trading.