Wall Street analysts forecast DuPont would deliver earnings per share of 10 cents on $5.31 billion in revenue, according to a Thomson Reuters. The results are the first quarterly earnings report since former CEO Ellen Kullman stepped down earlier this month. Performance materials’ operating earnings were $317 million, a 13%, or $49 million drop form the 2014 third quarter, while Safety & Protection’s operating earnings fell to $156 million, a 20%, or $39 million drop from the same quarter past year. Profit excluding a few items was 13 cents, beating the 10-cent average estimate of 16 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
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The strong dollar is expected to cut 72 cents per share from earnings for the year, the company said. The company earlier had projected earns of $3.10 per share.
DuPont has speeded up cost cuts to counter weakening sales and to appease activist investor Nelson Peltz, who has criticized the company’s cost structure and its inability to meet financial targets.
DuPont noted the decreases were due to the stronger USA dollar in the overseas markets where they operate and weakness in the agriculture market.
DuPont’s board is conducting a search to permanently fill the CEO and chairman roles, and Mr. Breen said “I don’t think that process will be much longer”.
“I see more opportunity now than when I arrived three weeks ago”, Mr. Breen added.
Meanwhile, DuPont continues to struggle, with third-quarter volume declines in all regions and in five of its six business units, led by a 17 percent volume decline and $210 million operating loss for its agricultural unit.
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DuPont, among the world’s biggest sellers of crop seeds and pesticides, aims to finalize a plan to further reduce costs in the fourth quarter of this year, and “we are working quickly with a sense of urgency”, Mr. Breen said. The company attributed a 7 percent volume gain in its industrial biosciences unit primarily to increased demand in food and home and personal care markets. That represents a 12 percent drop from the third quarter in 2014. The average estimate was for $5.27 billion.
