Deere profit beats on better demand for farm equipment, shares jump

Deere reported on Friday a bigger-than-expected quarterly profit, as sales rose for the first time in 13 quarters on improving demand for its farm and construction equipment.Shares of Deere, which has cut jobs and lowered production due to declining demand for its trademark green tractors and harvesting combines, were up 7.3 percent at $120.30 in premarket trading.The U.S. farm equipment maker also raised it fiscal 2017 equipment sales growth forecast to 9 percent, from the previous 4 percent forecast in February.Deere now expects fiscal 2017 net income attributable to the company to be about $2 billion, up from $1.5 billion previously.