WI Custom Operators



National & World Ag News Headlines
DuPont Tops Estimates as Pre-Merger Cost Cuts Boos Margins
USAgNet - 07/28/2016

DuPont Co. posted second-quarter earnings that surpassed analysts' estimates as cost cuts ahead of a historic merger with Dow Chemical Co. helped boost profit in every business segment. The company also raised the low end of its forecast for full-year earnings by 10 cents a share, according to a statement. Chief Executive Officer Ed Breen is cutting 10 percent of the workforce ahead of the $60 billion tie-up with Dow, the biggest ever in the chemical industry.

Breen also got a boost from the agriculture business, which posted higher second-quarter earnings for the first time since 2013 even as rival Monsanto Co. continued to struggle. Earnings in the unit, DuPont's biggest, climbed 12 percent as demand for corn seed and insecticide more than compensated for lower North American volume in soybean seeds.

"The cut costs more than we expected," said Jonas Oxgaard, a New York-based analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. whose earnings estimate of $1.18 a share was the highest compiled by Bloomberg. "They seem to be running the ag business better than they used to."

DuPont rose 0.8 percent to $69.40 at 11:49 a.m. in New York. The shares had gained 3.4 percent this year through Monday.

Meanwhile, DuPont raised its full-year forecast for operating earnings excluding restructuring costs and other items to a range of $3.15 to $3.20 a share, up from an April forecast of $3.05 to $3.20 a share. Analysts on average had estimated $3.14.

Second-quarter adjusted earnings rose to $1.24 a share, exceeding the average estimate by 14 cents a share. Revenue fell 0.8 percent to $7.06 billion as a stronger dollar, lower prices and portfolio changes outweighed a 2 percent increase in sales volumes. Analysts on average had estimated revenue of $7.01 billion.

Shareholders of DuPont and Dow last week approved the 50-50 merger of the two largest U.S. chemical makers. The all-stock transaction was announced Dec. 11 and is scheduled to close later this year. The creation of DowDuPont Inc. is to be followed in 2018 by a split into three publicly traded companies focused on agriculture, specialty products and materials science.


Other National Headlines
Real Wisconsin Cheese Curds
Sheah Auguers/SD Ellenbecker
Copyright © 2024 - Farms.com. All Rights Reserved.