Deere Says Loss to Slash Year’s Profit

Deere & Co., maker of heavy equipment, said it plans to cut production by 25%, resulting in a fourth-quarter loss that will erase most of its profit this year as bad weather and the slow economy hurt sales.

Deere also posted a 58% drop in fiscal third-quarter net income, to $71.8 million, or 30 cents a share, better than the 25-cent average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial/First Call.

Deere said it’s scaling back production of large tractors, combines and cotton-pickers. Deere also is extending by as much as five weeks a shutdown at a plant in Waterloo, Iowa, that makes large tractors.

The Moline, Ill.-based company did not specify how much of a loss it expects for the fourth quarter, but said it expects to break even this year. Analysts on average were expecting a profit of 26 cents for the fourth quarter and a profit of $1.28 for the full year.

Deere shares fell $1.37 to $41.88 on the NYSE.