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cummins.com, under the heading of Investors and Media.
I'll start with a summary of our second quarter financial results and our market trends by region and then finish with a discussion of our outlook for 2021.
Mark, will then take you through more details of both our second quarter financial performance, and our forecast for this year.
Demand remained strong in the second quarter, as the global economy continued to improve, driving strong sales growth across most businesses and regions, resulting in solid profitability.
We are encouraged by economic trends across a number of our key end markets, which point to strong demand for the remainder of this year, and extending into 2022.
In North America freight activity continues to grow, leading to elevated spot and contract rates and driving fleet profitability, and a rising backlog of truck orders.
Leading indicators for non-residential construction, continue to improve and fiscal support for investment and capital projects is robust, led by North America and Europe.
Iron ore, copper and thermal coal prices also remain high, supporting a positive outlook for mining.
Cummins is well positioned to benefit, as these markets gain momentum due to our leading global position across a number of end markets, and we continue to see demand our products outpace our competition.
Before getting into our results.
I want to take a moment to highlight a number of partnerships and strategic milestones, and the evolution of our next generation technologies.
In May, we formed a partnership with the Iberdrola, a leading global producer of renewable power to accelerate the global growth of business opportunities in the electrolyzer market, and especially in Europe with a focus on the Iberian Peninsula.
The Alliance will help position Cummins as a leading supplier of electrolyzer systems for large scale projects in Europe.
As part of our alliance, Cummins will be the electrolyzer supplier for a 230 megawatt project for a leading fertilizer producer that will serve as a benchmark for large PEM scale electrolysis globally.
We signed a globe, a joint venture with Sinopec and Enze fund in June which will accelerate the affordability and availability of green hydrogen in China to development of hydrogen generation projects, and increasing manufacturing capacity of electrolyzers and other key products in the green hydrogen supply chain.
As one of the largest hydrogen suppliers in China, Sinopec's annual hydrogen production reaches 3.5 million tons, accounting for 14% of total -- China's total hydrogen production.
China's embrace of green hydrogen is great for the planet, and Cummins and Sinopec joining together to realize the potential of green hydrogen is a huge leap forward for scaling our innovative PEM electrolyzer systems.
We recently announced a strategic collaboration with Chevron to develop commercially viable business opportunities in hydrogen and other alternative energy sources.
The MoU provides the framework for Chevron and Cummins to initially collaborate on four main objectives.
First, advancing public policy that promotes hydrojet -- hydrogen as a decarbonizing solution for transportation and industry; building market demand for commercial vehicles and industrial applications powered by hydrogen; developing infrastructure to support the use of hydrogen for industry and fuel cell vehicles; and fourth, exploring opportunities to leverage Cummins electrolyzer and fuel cell technologies at one or more of Chevron's domestic refineries.
The partnership with Chevron allows us to scale low carbon fuel delivery and build hydrogen corridors for use by fuel cell vehicles.
In addition, we can work with Chevron to decarbonize parts of their operations using our green hydrogen technology.
Finally, last week, Cummins announced the signing of an MoU with Air Products to work together to begin the transition of Air Products' heavy-duty tractor fleet to zero emissions vehicles in the Americas, Europe and Asia.
Cummins will provide hydrogen fuel cell electric powertrains integrated into selective -- selected OEM partners' heavy-duty trucks for use by Air Products.
The project will take a phased approach to transition Air Products fleet to hydrogen fuel cell electric powertrains, starting with five demonstration units to be delivered in Europe and North America by the end of next year.
Following successful demonstration, the project includes ramp-ups, which -- with a total of 2,000 trucks to be delivered by the middle of the decade.
This represents among the largest orders for fuel cell vehicles to-date, and we will be working with a partner that has deep expertise in the generation, transportation and use of hydrogen.
We've now deployed more than 2,000 fuel cells and 600 electrolyzers around the world as we continue the development of our hydrogen business.
In addition to accelerating our revenue momentum via these important strategic partnerships, we are also building out our electrolyzer capacity, targeting the regions which we expect to be at the forefront of green hydrogen production and commercial adoption.
Site selection search within the Guadalajara area of Castilla-La Mancha in Spain is currently underway for Cummins new approximately $60 million PEM electrolyzer manufacturing plant that will house system assembly and testing for approximately 500 megawatts per year of electrolyzer production and will be scalable to more than one gigawatt per year.
Cummins-Enze, the JV we signed in conjunction with Sinopec, will be located in Foshan, Guangdong province in China.
The JV will initially invest $47 million to locate a manufacturing plant to produce PEM electrolyzers.
The plant will open with a manufacturing capacity of 500 megawatts of electrolyzers per year, but will also be scalable to more than one gigawatt per year.
These investments, in addition to our build-outs underway at our current facilities in Belgium and Canada, will position us to have nearly two gigawatts of capacity by the middle of the decade with the flexibility to scale up as demand accelerates.
In the battery electric space, we continue to produce and sell fully electric powertrains in first-mover markets such as transit, school bus and yard spotters.
Cummins is collaborating with PepsiCo's Frito-Lay on a electric demonstration truck for a pickup and delivery application that has been running daily routes since last November.
This truck will be showcased at the upcoming North American Council for freight efficiencies electric truck demonstration.
We are well positioned with our deep market expertise in electric powertrain technology and are continuously evaluating how we can adapt and improve to meet customer demand and market trends as the technology matures.
This includes next-generation battery electric systems to balance the durability needs of our customers while focusing on delivering products at a compelling price point.
We are also continuing to explore new partnerships to enhance our capabilities, improve our cost position and drive more volume and scale into the business.
In addition to these important milestones for our New Power business, we are investing in our Engine and Components businesses to develop advanced diesel and alternative fuel products, which will be critical to meeting customer and regulatory requirements in the coming years.
We announced the signing of an LOI to acquire a 50% equity interest in Momentum Fuel Technologies.
The joint venture between Rush Enterprises and Cummins will produce Cummins-branded natural gas fuel delivery systems for the commercial vehicle market in North America, combining the strength of Momentum Fuel Technologies compressed natural gas fuel delivery systems Cummins powertrain expertise and the engineering and support infrastructure of both companies.
We have seen increasing interest over last year and expect natural gas powertrains to become an increasingly popular choice for end users due to both a compelling total cost of ownership as well as the environmental benefit of such powertrains, especially when utilizing renewable natural gas sources.
We also began testing of a hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engine for heavy-duty truck applications, building on Cummins' existing technology leadership in gases fuel applications and powertrain leadership to create a new power solution to help customers meet the energy environmental needs of the future.
The hydrogen engine program can potentially expand the technology options available to achieve a more sustainable transport sector complementing our capabilities in hydrogen fuel cell, battery electric and renewable gas powertrains.
We are committed to bringing customers the right solution at the right time.
Doing so requires us to maintain a broad portfolio of power solutions to meet our diverse customers' needs and to minimize total carbon emissions throughout the energy transition.
Now I'll comment on the overall company performance for the second quarter of 2021 and cover some of our key markets, starting with North America before moving on to our logos international markets.
Revenues for the second quarter of 2021 were $6.1 billion, an increase of 59% compared to the second quarter of 2020.
EBITDA was $974 million or 15.9% compared to $549 million or 14.3% a year ago.
EBITDA increased as a result of stronger global demand and higher joint venture income, partly offset by significantly higher premium freight and other costs associated with supply chain disruptions in addition to higher compensation costs.
Our global markets experienced an unprecedented shock from the impact of COVID-19 during the second quarter of last year.
And while we have been encouraged by the ongoing recovery across all of our global markets, our industry continues to experience significant constraints across the supply chain, leading to an extended period of inefficiencies and higher costs.
Despite these supply chain impacts, though, we are continuing to deliver strong financial performance while supporting our customers.
The ability to supply our customers remains our key focus now.
And while we are optimistic that the supply chain constraints will ease with time, they are likely to persist through the end of the year.
Our second quarter revenues in North America grew 74% to $3.5 billion, driven by higher industry build rates across all on-highway markets.
Industry production of heavy-duty trucks in the second quarter was 67,000 units, an increase of 180% from 2020 levels.
While our heavy-duty unit sales were $23,000, an increase of 217% from 2020.
Industry production of medium-duty trucks was 29,000 units in the second quarter of 2021, an increase of 94% from 2020 levels, while our unit sales were 22,000 units, an increase of 85% from 2020.
We shipped 42,000 engines to Stellantis for use in the Ram pickups in the second quarter of 2021, an increase of 272% from 2020 levels.
Revenues for Power Generation grew by 48% due to higher demand in recreational vehicle, standby power and data center markets.
Our international revenues increased by 42% in the second quarter of 2021 compared to a year ago.
Second quarter revenues in China, including joint ventures, were $2.1 billion, an increase of 8% due to higher sales in power generation and mining markets.
We also experienced a higher penetration rate with our joint venture partners in the heavy and medium-duty on-highway markets as they prepare for broader implementation of NS VI in July of this year.
Industry demand for medium and heavy-duty trucks in China was 566,000 units, a decrease of 4%, but still well above replacement, driven by continued pre-buy of NS V trucks, ahead of the broader implementation of the new NS VI standards in July of this year.
Our sales and units, including joint ventures, were 85,000 units, a decrease of 5% versus the second quarter of 2020.
The light-duty market in China decreased 8% from 2020 levels to 614,000 units, while our units sold, including joint ventures, were 38,000, a decrease of 28%, driven by supply chain constraints, particularly in these lighter displacement vehicles.
Industry demand for excavators in the second quarter was 97,000 units, a decrease of 5% from very high 2020 levels.
Our units sold were 16,800 units, a decrease of 7%.
The demand for power generation equipment in China increased 47% in the second quarter, driven by growth in data center markets and other standby power markets.
We continue to hold a leading market position in the data center segment, driven by strong end-user relationships and a compelling product offering in that space.
Second quarter revenues in India including joint ventures were $392 million, an increase of 219% from the second quarter of 2020, despite experiencing a terrible second wave of COVID-19 during this period.
Industry truck production increased by 468%, while our shipments increased 535%, as our joint venture partner continued to gain share.
Demand for power generation and construction equipment rebounded strongly in the second quarter, compared to a very low base a year ago.
We remain encouraged by the continued economic recovery, driven by anticipated government infrastructure spending.
In Brazil, our revenues increased 175%, driven by increased demand in most end markets.
Now let me quickly cover our outlook for 2021.
Based on our current forecast, we are maintaining full year 2021 revenue guidance of up 20% to 24% versus last year.
EBITDA is still expected to be in the range of 15.5% to 16%.
And the company expects to return 75% of operating cash flow to shareholders in 2021, in the form of dividend and share repurchases.
And summing up the quarter, strong demand across many of our key markets drove continued sales growth in the second quarter and resulted in solid profitability.
We have secured important new partnerships in our New Power segment.
At the same time, we continue to invest in bringing new technologies to customers, outgrowing our end markets and providing strong cash returns to our shareholders.
Cummins Filtration is a premier filtration platform and a technology leader specializing in filtration products used in heavy-medium-duty and light-duty trucks, industrial equipment and power generation systems.
The business generated revenues of approximately $1.2 billion in 2020, and remains well positioned for continued growth, sustained margin performance and strong free cash flow generation.
Cummins Filtration has a strong global footprint with leading positions in North America, India and China.
And a significant presence in other key markets supported by long-standing local partnerships.
We are exploring a range of options to unlock significant shareholder value, including the separation of Filtration into a stand-alone company with a dedicated management team, who are well positioned to drive the business forward and diversify its business, leveraging strong technology portfolio and footprint.
The execution of this exploration process is dependent upon business and market conditions, of course, along with a number of other factors and considerations.
And any costs associated with the evaluation of these alternatives for the Filtration business has been excluded from our financial outlook.
We plan to share a lot more about this and other elements of our strategy, during our Analyst Day on February 23rd.
Our purpose in delaying this event from November this year, until spring, is to be able to hold it in person.
And we will provide more details as we get closer, to the February 23rd date.
There are four key takeaways from our second quarter operating results.
First, underlying demand remains strong, outpacing supply and increasing backlogs in some of our largest markets.
Number two, global supply chains remain constrained due to the elevated levels of demand and complications arising from COVID, resulting in higher premium freight costs and other associated inefficiencies than we anticipated three months ago.
We delivered solid profitability and cash flows in the first half of the year despite the continued cost headwinds associated with tight supply chain.
And for the full year, we are maintaining our revenue and profitability guidance.
And fourthly, we returned $860 million to shareholders in the quarter through cash dividends and share repurchases and $1.48 billion for the first half of the year, consistent with our plan to return 75% of operating cash flow to shareholders this year.
Now let me go into more details on the second quarter.
Second quarter revenues were $6.1 billion, an increase of 59% from a year ago when the impact of COVID-19 was at its most severe.
Sales in North America grew 74% and international revenues rose 42%.
Currency positively impacted revenues by 3%, driven primarily by a weaker US dollar.
EBITDA was $974 million or 15.9% of sales for the quarter compared to $549 million or 14.3% of sales a year ago.
EBITDA increased primarily due to the benefits of higher volumes and stronger earnings from our joint ventures in China and India, partially offset by higher product coverage costs and higher compensation expenses primarily variable compensation.
Gross margin of $1.5 billion or 24.2% of sales increased by $588 million or 110 basis points, primarily driven by the higher volumes, global supply chain tightness continued in the second quarter and resulted in approximately $100 million of additional freight, labor and logistics costs.
We expect these costs to remain elevated in the second half of the year with demand projected to remain strong, supply tight and some increase in logistics and transportation costs.
Selling, general and administrative expenses increased by $130 million or 28% due to higher compensation expenses.
And research expenses increased by $87 million or 46% from a year ago.
As a reminder, due to the significant uncertainty at the onset of COVID-19, we implemented temporary salary reductions in April of last year that lasted through the end of September last year.
Salary reductions resulted in approximately $75 million of pre-tax savings for the company in the second quarter of 2020 across gross margin, selling, admin and research expenses.
In addition, our variable compensation plan worked as designed, flexing down in the face of weaker economic conditions last year and flexing up with stronger financial performance this year.
All operating segments experienced higher compensation costs than a year ago for these two primary reasons.
Joint venture income was $137 million in the second quarter, up from $115 million a year ago.
Strong demand for trucks and construction equipment in China as well as a broad recovery in other international markets led to the improved profitability versus a year ago.
Other income increased by $30 million from a year ago due to a number of positive items, including a one-time $18 million gain on the sale of some land in India, which benefited our Distribution segment.
Net earnings for the quarter were $600 million or $4.10 per diluted share compared to $276 million or $1.86 from a year ago, primarily due to stronger after-tax earnings driven by stronger volumes.
The gain on the sale of land in India contributed $0.05 of earnings per share this quarter.
The effective tax rate in the quarter was 21.4%.
Operating cash flow in the quarter was an inflow of $616 million, compared to an outflow of $22 million a year ago.
Stronger earnings and dividends received from joint ventures more than offset increases in working capital.
I'll now comment on segment performance and our guidance for 2021, which is unchanged from three months ago.
For the Engine segment, second quarter revenues increased by 75%, driven by increased demand for trucks in the U.S. and construction equipment in U.S. and Europe.
EBITDA increased from 10.5% to 16.1% of sales, primarily driven by higher volumes and lower product coverage expense, which more than offset higher costs and inefficiencies associated with global supply chain challenges.
And although, supply chain costs in this segment remain elevated from a year ago, they did improve a little from first quarter levels.
We expect full year revenues to be up 23% to 27%, and EBITDA margins to be in the range of 14.5% to 15% for the Engine segment.
In Distribution, revenues increased 20% from a year ago.
And EBITDA increased as a percent of sales from 10% to 10.5%, primarily due to stronger performance in North America.
We have maintained our outlook for segment revenue growth to be up 6% to 10%, and EBITDA margins to be 9% at the midpoint of our guidance.
In the Components business, revenues increased 73% in the second quarter, driven primarily by stronger demand for trucks in North America.
EBITDA increased from 12.3% of sales to 15.1%, due to the benefits of stronger volumes, partially offset by higher product coverage costs.
For the full year 2021, we expect Components revenue to increase 30% to 34% and EBITDA to be 17%, at the midpoint.
In the Power Systems segment, revenues increased 47% in the second quarter, driven by stronger global demand for power generation and mining equipment.
EBITDA increased from 11.7% to 12.2% of sales, primarily due to the benefits of higher volumes and lower product coverage expenses.
We are maintaining our Power Systems guidance of revenues up 16% to 20%, and EBITDA margin in the range of 11% to 11.5% of sales.
In the New Power segment, revenues increased to $24 million, up 140%, due to stronger sales of battery electric systems and fuel cells.
EBITDA losses for the quarter were $60 million, in line with our expectations, as we continue to invest in new products and scale up ahead of widespread adoption of the new technologies.
For Full year, we currently project New Power revenues of $110 million to $130 million and EBITDA losses to be in the range of $190 million to $210 million.
Total company guidance remains unchanged, with revenues to grow between 20% and 24%.
And EBITDA margin to be between 15.5% and 16%, for the full year.
EBITDA perfect for the first half of the year was 16%.
Some of the key factors expected to influence second half profitability, are the piece of improvement in truck production in North America, the rate of decline in demand in China, and the performance of the global supply chain.
We now expect earnings from joint ventures to be up 10% in 2021, compared to our prior year guidance of down 5%.
Stronger-than-expected demand in China truck and construction markets, especially in the second quarter, is the primary reason for the increase in our forecast.
So joint venture earnings are expected to ease in the second half of the year with industry truck sales expected to decline following the broader adoption of the new National Standard VI on highway emissions regulations in China in July.
And we also anticipate a softening of demand for construction equipment coming off all-time high levels in the first half of the year.
Our effective tax rate is expected to be approximately 21.5%, excluding discrete items, down from our prior guidance of 22.5% due to the mix of geographic earnings, capex -- capital expenditures were $125 million in the quarter, up from $77 million a year ago.
And we expect our full year capital expenditures to be at the high end of our range of $725 million to $775 million for the full year.
We returned $869 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases in the second quarter, bringing our total cash returns to $1.48 billion for the first half -- excuse me for my dry throat.
To summarize, we delivered strong results in the second quarter despite continued supply chain constraints and elevated costs.
Demand currently exceeds supply in a number of important markets, pointing to strong demand for our products into 2022.
We continue to extend our leadership position through advancing the technologies that power the profitability of our customers today and will continue to do so for some time to come.
This sets the company up to further increase the earnings power of our core business while we continue to invest in a range of new technologies and develop new partnerships that position the company for additional growth.
Our strong balance sheet focused on improving performance cycle-over-cycle and consistent cash flow generation means that we can sustain important investments for the future through periods of economic uncertainty and distribute excess cash to shareholders.
Out of consideration to others on the call, I would ask that you limit yourself to one question and a related follow-up.
And if you have additional questions, please rejoin the queue.
Operator, we are now ready for our first question.

user
q2 earnings per share $4.10.
q2 revenue $6.1 billion versus refinitiv ibes estimate of $6 billion.
sees fy revenue up 20 to 24 percent.
also announcing exploration of strategic alternatives for its filtration business.
potential strategic alternatives to be explored include separation of cummins filtration business unit into a stand-alone company.

assistant