Caterpillar (CAT) reported quarterly earnings on Monday that fell, hurt by a big write-down in China.

REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi The company reported earnings of $1.91 a share, excluding a write-down of 87 cents a share relating to a China holding. That compared to earnings of $2.32 a share in the year-earlier period.

Earlier this month, Caterpillar said it would take a massive charge of $580 million in the fourth quarter, after having to write off most of a Chinese deal that collapsed under fraud allegations.

Revenue fell to $16.08 billion from $17.24 billion during the same period last year.

Analysts had expected Caterpillar to report $16.13 billion in revenue, with earnings of $1.70 a share, according to a consensus estimate from Thomson Reuters.

The company also forecast full-year earnings of $7 to $9 a share, compared to analysts' estimates of about $8.54 a share.

The former chairman of a Chinese mining equipment firm bought by Caterpillar said on Monday he was dismayed by allegations of accounting misconduct at a subsidiary that prompted the U.S. firm to take a $580 million write-down.

(More from CNBC: US Facing Fresh Financial Shock to Economy)

Emory Williams Jr said Caterpillar had conducted extensive due diligence before its takeover of Hong Kong-listed ERA Mining Machinery last June, adding that he was seeking further details from the company, the world's largest maker of tractors and excavators.

"We were shocked and dismayed to learn, from press reports, about the very significant goodwill impairment that Caterpillar is taking in relation to the acquisition of ERA's subsidiary Siwei," Emory Williams Jr said in a statement.

CLARIFICATION: An earlier version of this story stated that earnings fell short of expectations. The company's earnings, including the China one-time charge, were above analysts' consensus.

-Reuters contributed to this report.