Caterpillar announced sales and revenues for the fourth quarter of 2021 were $13.8 billion, a 23% increase compared with $11.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020. Operating profit margin was 11.7% for the fourth quarter of 2021, compared with 12.3% for the fourth quarter of 2020.
Fourth quarter 2021 profit per share was $3.91, compared with $1.42 profit per share in the fourth quarter of 2020. Adjusted profit per share in the fourth quarter of 2021 was $2.69, compared with the fourth quarter of 2020 adjusted profit per share of $2.12. Fourth quarter 2021 adjusted profit per share also reflected a lower-than-expected effective tax rate.
Full-year sales and revenues in 2021 were $51.0 billion, up 22% compared with $41.7 billion in 2020. The increase reflected higher end-user demand for equipment and services and the impact from changes in dealer inventories.
Dealers decreased their inventories $2.9 billion in 2020, while remaining about flat in 2021. Operating profit margin was 13.5% for 2021, compared with 10.9% for 2020. Full-year profit was $11.83 per share in 2021, compared with profit of $5.46 per share in 2020. Adjusted profit per share in 2021 was $10.81, compared with adjusted profit per share of $6.56 in 2020.
“I’m proud of our global team’s continued resilience in what proved to be a challenging and dynamic operating environment. We delivered adjusted operating profit margins and ME&T free cash flows consistent with our long-term targets established during our 2019 Investor Day,” said Chairman and CEO Jim Umpleby. “Amid ongoing supply chain constraints, our team continues to execute our strategy for long-term profitable growth while striving to meet customer demand.”
In 2021, adjusted profit per share excluded mark-to-market gains for remeasurement of pension and other postemployment benefit (OPEB) plans and restructuring costs. In 2020, adjusted profit per share excluded mark-to-market losses for remeasurement of pension and OPEB plans and restructuring costs.
For the full year of 2021, enterprise operating cash flow was $7.2 billion. During the year, the company repurchased $2.7 billion of Caterpillar common stock and paid dividends of $2.3 billion. Liquidity remained strong with an enterprise cash balance of $9.3 billion at the end of 2021.