On Monday, a tougher than estimated quarterly profit was reported by Caterpillar Inc.

Also, it increased its year's prediction, declaring that financial situations were getting better, particularly in Asia and Latin America.

Strong abroad orders from mining and energy companies are expected by the world's leading creator of earth-moving equipment, whose shares increased 3% in premarket trading.

It said that it has firm orders for a major proportion of its huge mining trucks and large track-type tractors.

But the company cut its prospect for 2010 U. S. housing starts by 20%, from 1 million to 800,000 saying the weak labor market was "the major reason many remain pessimistic about the U. S. economy".

It has been reported that the Peoria, Illinois-based company reported first three month revenue of $233 million, or 36 cents a share. In 2009, Caterpillar reported a net loss of $112 million, or 19 cents a share.

Also, Caterpillar anticipates whole year revenue in the range of $2.50 to $3.25 a share on sales in the range of $38 billion to $42 billion.

According to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, on an average, analysts estimated the firm to report a turnover of $2.69 a share on sales of $37 billion.