E.I. DuPont de Nemours, the Wilmington-based chemical company responsible for brands like Teflon, Kevlar and Tyvek, reported third quarter earnings results Tuesday morning that were hampered by the global economy, company executives said. While DuPont boosted its bottom line by 20% -- beating Wall Street estimates along the way -- top-line sales declined compared to the same time last year and failed to meet analyst expectations.
DuPont reported $7.5 billion in third quarter net revenue, down 3% from the prior-year period and falling short of the $7.95 billion analyst consensus. Net income for the quarter came in at $433 million, resulting in earnings of 47 cents per share. Excluding special items, earnings per share were 54 cents, a 20% increase over the year-ago quarter and a figure that beats the analyst consensus by a penny.
"In the third quarter, we improved our operating margins in five of seven segments and grew operating earnings per share 20 percent, despite a weaker agricultural environment and sluggish economic growth in most of the world," DuPont chair and CEO Ellen Kullman said in a statement Tuesday morning. "Our increase in margins in a slow growth environment reflects the momentum we are building as we execute our plan, which is driving new products, portfolio enhancements and a broad initiative to redesign our operating model with a smaller cost base and a simplified support structure."
Within the company's operating segments, the agriculture business posted a $55 million operating loss, an 11% improvement over the year-ago period due to lower seed input costs and operating cost improvements. DuPont said that increases in insecticide and fungicide volumes "were more than offset" by lower corn seed and herbicide volumes as well as lower corn seed prices. Also proving to be a drag on overall results was the performance chemical segment, which posted a 5% drop in operating earnings due to lower prices and portfolio changes.
One bright spot was DuPont's safety and protection business -- it makes Kevlar products like bullet-proof vests -- which posted an 18% jump in operating earnings thanks to lower costs paired with productivity improvements.
Looking ahead to the rest of 2014, DuPont reiterated its full-year earnings per share outlook, saying Tuesday that it continues to expect full-year earnings to fall between $4.00 and $4.10 per share. "For the fourth quarter, the company expects sluggish growth in the global economy, along with continuing headwinds in agriculture and from currency," DuPont stated. "However, the company remains confident in its ability to create higher value from its portfolio while continuing to deliver against cost productivity and corporate initiatives."
Shares of DuPont have been up and down in response to the earnings report; after jumping in and out of negative territory in Tuesday's pre-market trading session, shares opened higher than their Monday close but quickly fell back into the red. The stock is currently down 0.3%.
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