Washington - Caterpillar Inc, the world's largest maker of earth-moving equipment, Monday reported a 34-per-cent increase in second-quarter profits, riding high on increased sales in Asia and the Middle East.

Net income increased to a record 1.11 billion dollars, from 823 million dollars a year earlier. Sales increased 20 per cent to 13.6 billion dollars.

"While North America remains depressed and we've seen softening in Western Europe and Japan, Caterpillar continues to grow in emerging markets and in global industries like energy and mining," chairman and CEO Jim Owens said.

Road and power grid projects increased the demand for equipment in Asia and the Middle East, while rising oil and coal prices spurred mining tool sales in Russia, Bloomberg financial news agency reported. (dpa)