Caterpillar Foundation Donates $250,000 to Red Cross Relief Efforts as Australia Battles Bushfire Crisis

DEERFIELD, Ill., Jan. 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- As bushfires rage across Australia, the Caterpillar Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT), is making a $250,000 donation to the Australian Red Cross to aid in relief efforts. The unprecedented fires have taken lives, destroyed homes and devastated millions of acres of land and the region's wildlife.

"Our hearts go out to the people of Australia as they endure this devastating crisis," said Caterpillar Chairman and CEO Jim Umpleby. "While our employees, dealers and customers live and work throughout Australia, the Caterpillar Foundation is making this donation to support recovery for all. The longstanding partnership between the Foundation and the Red Cross has demonstrated the organization's exceptional ability to swiftly put relief donations to work in the areas they're needed most."

In addition to this donation, the Caterpillar Foundation is also a member of the American Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program. This program provides a funding base that allows the Red Cross to respond immediately to the needs of individuals and families impacted by disasters. The Foundation is also matching employee, retiree and dealer employee gifts to the Red Cross.

"Caterpillar's assistance extends beyond the Foundation. We're grateful to our Cat dealers across the region that are providing their help and expertise in the face of the disaster," continued Umpleby. "Their efforts include financial and product support, with in kind support of rental equipment and on-call field service for equipment used in the crisis efforts. Both Caterpillar and dealers are also providing various paid arrangements for Emergency Service employees."

In addition, Caterpillar is providing support to its customers and various government entities who are aiding in recovery missions.

About Caterpillar
For more than 90 years, Caterpillar Inc. has been making sustainable progress possible and driving positive change on every continent. Customers turn to Caterpillar to help them develop infrastructure, energy and natural resource assets. With 2018 sales and revenues of $54.722 billion, Caterpillar is the world's leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives. The company principally operates through its three primary segments - Construction Industries, Resource Industries and Energy & Transportation - and also provides financing and related services through its Financial Products segment. For more information, visit caterpillar.com. To connect with us on social media, visit caterpillar.com/social-media.

About Caterpillar Foundation
Founded in 1952, Caterpillar's philanthropic organization, the Caterpillar Foundation, has contributed more than $740 million to help make sustainable progress possible around the world by building resilient communities that thrive in a rapidly changing world. To learn more about the global impact of the Caterpillar Foundation, visit caterpillar.com/foundation. To connect with us on social media, visit caterpillar.com/social-media.

Forward-looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release relate to future events and expectations and are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "believe," "estimate," "will be," "will," "would," "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "forecast," "target," "guide," "project," "intend," "could," "should" or other similar words or expressions often identify forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding our outlook, projections, forecasts or trend descriptions. These statements do not guarantee future performance and speak only as of the date they are made, and we do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements.

Caterpillar's actual results may differ materially from those described or implied in our forward-looking statements based on a number of factors, including, but not limited to: (i) global and regional economic conditions and economic conditions in the industries we serve; (ii) commodity price changes, material price increases, fluctuations in demand for our products or significant shortages of material; (iii) government monetary or fiscal policies; (iv) political and economic risks, commercial instability and events beyond our control in the countries in which we operate; (v) international trade policies and their impact on demand for our products and our competitive position, including the imposition of new tariffs or changes in existing tariff rates; (vi) our ability to develop, produce and market quality products that meet our customers' needs; (vii) the impact of the highly competitive environment in which we operate on our sales and pricing; (viii) information technology security threats and computer crime; (ix) inventory management decisions and sourcing practices of our dealers and our OEM customers; (x) a failure to realize, or a delay in realizing, all of the anticipated benefits of our acquisitions, joint ventures or divestitures; (xi) union disputes or other employee relations issues; (xii) adverse effects of unexpected events including natural disasters; (xiii) disruptions or volatility in global financial markets limiting our sources of liquidity or the liquidity of our customers, dealers and suppliers; (xiv) failure to maintain our credit ratings and potential resulting increases to our cost of borrowing and adverse effects on our cost of funds, liquidity, competitive position and access to capital markets; (xv) our Financial Products segment's risks associated with the financial services industry; (xvi) changes in interest rates or market liquidity conditions; (xvii) an increase in delinquencies, repossessions or net losses of Cat Financial's customers; (xviii) currency fluctuations; (xix) our or Cat Financial's compliance with financial and other restrictive covenants in debt agreements; (xx) increased pension plan funding obligations; (xxi) alleged or actual violations of trade or anti-corruption laws and regulations; (xxii) additional tax expense or exposure, including the impact of U.S. tax reform; (xxiii) significant legal proceedings, claims, lawsuits or government investigations; (xxiv) new regulations or changes in financial services regulations; (xxv) compliance with environmental laws and regulations; and (xxvi) other factors described in more detail in Caterpillar's Forms 10-Q, 10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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SOURCE Caterpillar Inc.