Caterpillar falls after hours on charge warning

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) 

Caterpillar Inc. shares fell Friday evening after the heavy-equipment maker said it would take a charge in its fourth-quarter results, citing improper accounting at a recently acquired unit

Caterpillar  announced it will take a charge of 87 cents a share in the fourth quarter because of accounting misconduct at a unit with operations in China
Caterpillar stock fell 1.5% at $96.11 in late trading, nearing erasing the 2% rise in the day session
The Peoria, Ill.-based company said it was taking the $580 million charge and firing several senior managers of Zhengzhou Siwei Mechanical & Electrical Manufacturing Co., part of ERA Mining Machinery Ltd., which Caterpillar acquired in June
Analysts polled by FactSet currently expect earnings of $1.71 a share on revenue of $15.98 billion. The quarterly results are due Jan. 28.