Caterpillar net down 43% on revenue slide

Caterpillar Inc.'s second-quarter profit shrank 43% as the maker of mining and construction equipment posted a sharp decline in revenue and margins contracted
The world's largest seller of bulldozers now expects per-share earnings for the year of $6.50, on revenue of $56 billion to $58 billion, down from its prior forecast of $7 a share in profit and $57 billion to $61 billion in revenue
Caterpillar on Tuesday confirmed the weakening trend in demand for heavy machinery, reporting that global sales of its machinery through dealers declined 8% from a year earlier in the three months through June
In the three months through May, such sales fell 7%
The global mining boom helped Caterpillar rebound quickly from the 2008 recession
But lower prices for mined commodities lately have caused mine operators to dial back their purchases in equipment
Caterpillar reported a profit of $960 million, or $1.45 a share, down from $1.7 billion, or $2.54 a share, a year earlier
Revenue sank 16% to $14.62 billion
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters most recently projected earnings of $1.70 on revenue of $14.93 billion
Operating margins fell to 10.6% from 15.1%