PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — Caterpillar, Inc. announced its first quarter earnings Thursday morning, stating that revenues were up 17% compared to the first quarter of 2022.

The increase, the Irving, Texas-based company stated in a news release, was due to favorable price realization and higher sales volume.

Sales and revenues in the first quarter of 2023 were $15.9 billion, 17% more than in 2022 when the first quarter reported $13.6 billion.

The earth-moving giant also returned $1 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases in the quarter, the release said.

Operating profit margin was 17.2% for the first quarter of 2023, compared with 13.7% for the first quarter of 2022. Adjusted operating profit margin was 21.1% for the first quarter of 2023, compared with 13.7% for the first quarter of 2022.

First-quarter 2023 profit per share was $3.74, compared with first-quarter 2022 profit per share of $2.86. Adjusted profit per share in the first quarter of 2023 was $4.91, compared with first-quarter 2022 adjusted profit per share of $2.88. In the first quarter of 2023 and 2022, adjusted operating profit margin and adjusted profit per share excluded restructuring costs.

First-quarter 2023 restructuring costs included the impact of the divestiture of the company’s Longwall business. Please see a reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP financial measures in the appendix on page 13.

For the three months ended March 31, 2023, enterprise operating cash flow was $1.6 billion, and the company ended the first quarter with $6.8 billion of enterprise cash. In the quarter, the company paid dividends of $0.6 billion and repurchased $0.4 billion of Caterpillar common stock.

“I’d like to thank our global team for their strong operational performance while serving healthy demand during the first quarter. We achieved double-digit top-line growth and record adjusted profit per share while generating strong ME&T free cash flow,” said Jim Umpleby, Chairman and CEO. “Our team remains focused on supporting our customers as we execute our strategy for long-term profitable growth.”