Caterpillar posted better- than-expected first-quarter earnings and sales and boosted its full-year profit outlook on improved expectations for construction while also saying the mining industry continues to disappoint.

Profit this year excluding restructuring costs will be $6.10 a share, Caterpillar said in a statement.

That exceeds the company’s January projection of $5.85 and the $5.81 average of analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Caterpillar is the world’s largest maker of construction machinery and that segment of its business saw sales increase 20 in the quarter and earnings triple.

North American customer demand increased while dealers rebuilt inventories, the company said.

It now expects revenue from construction equipment such as excavators and backhoes to rise 10 percent this year, double the prior forecast.

Chairman and CEO Doug Oberhelman said in the statement that in talking with US construction customers and dealers, he’s hearing “positive stories about new projects and reasons for optimism.”

“While that’s encouraging, there’s still quite a bit of room for improvement,” he said.

“The US construction industry is still well below its 2006 peak.”

First-quarter net income rose to $1.44 a share from $1.31 a year earlier. Excluding restructuring costs, profit was $1.61, topping the $1.23 average of 22 estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Sales were almost unchanged at $13.2 billion, compared with the average estimate of $13.1 billion.

The state of the construction market contrasts with the company’s natural resources business, which has been hit by a downturn in mining investment. The unit’s profit dropped 68 percent in the quarter and full-year sales are now expected to drop 20 percent, twice as bad as previously expected, Caterpillar said.

Caterpillar is shutting plants and firing workers after the mining slump caused sales and earnings to drop last year for the first time since 2009. Mining companies have slashed spending, and Caterpillar said today that large mining-truck sales are about 80 percent down from their 2012 peak.