UPDATE 2DuPont lifts outlook on strong agricultural sales
(Adds background, CEO and CFO comments, share price move)
By Euan Rocha
NEW YORK, March 14 (Reuters) - U.S. chemical maker DuPont
Co (DD.N: Quote, Profile, Research) slightly raised its quarterly earnings forecast on
Friday, saying strong agricultural product sales are set to
outweigh rising costs and the impact of the weak U.S. auto and
housing markets.
The company also expects accelerated revenue growth over
the next three years driven primarily by increased sales in
emerging markets and small acquisitions.
“We’ll not just deliver volume growth, we will deliver
margin expansion as we go forward,” said Chief Executive Chad
Holliday, at the company’s investor day in New York.
Wilmington, Delaware-based DuPont said it now expects
first-quarter earnings per share of $1.14 to $1.19, up from its
Jan. 22 forecast of $1.12 to $1.17. It also reaffirmed its
full-year 2008 earnings forecast of $3.35 to $3.55 a share.
Surging energy prices, including crude oil’s jump to more
than $110 per barrel, and the rise in raw material costs have
threatened to squeeze margins across the chemical industry.
DuPont, which manufactures products like Corian and Tyvek,
that are widely used in home building, has also been hurt by
the slump in the U.S. housing market. While the slowdown in the
U.S. auto industry has hit its coatings business, which is one
of the world’s largest suppliers of automobile coatings.
But, DuPont said growing seed sales in overseas markets, as
well as new cost savings initiatives, would propel earnings
growth. Continued…
