Wilmington, Delaware
July 22, 2008
Company increases lower end of
2008 earnings outlook range
Highlights
- Second quarter 2008
earnings per share grew 13 percent to $1.18, up from $1.04
in the second
quarter of 2007. Earnings benefited $.07 per share from a
litigation settlement and a lower
base tax rate.
- Sales increased 12 percent
to $8.8 billion, reflecting 7 percent higher local selling
prices,
5 percent currency benefit, 1 percent higher volumes and a 1
percent reduction from portfolio
changes. Sales outside the United States grew 18 percent,
while sales in the United States grew
5 percent despite weakness in housing and automotive
markets.
- Local selling prices
increased 7 percent, partially offsetting a 15 percent
increase in energy,
raw materials and freight costs in the second quarter.
- Agriculture & Nutrition
sales grew 23 percent, reflecting strong global demand for
the
company’s corn, soybean and crop protection products.
- Fixed costs as a
percentage of sales improved 200 basis points from the
prior-year quarter,
reflecting the company’s continued cost productivity
improvement programs.
- DuPont increased the lower
end of its full year 2008 earnings outlook, narrowing the
range to
$3.45 to $3.55 per share.
“DuPont
captured strong growth in agriculture and emerging markets and
grew earnings despite accelerating raw material and energy costs
in the second quarter. We are executing well in a challenging
environment,” said DuPont Chairman and CEO Charles O. Holliday,
Jr. “DuPont’s strategic transformation in recent years is
enabling us to successfully adapt to the new reality of
significantly higher commodity costs and we remain focused on
achieving our 2010 accelerated growth plan.”
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