DuPont First Quarter Profit Up 26%
22 April 2008 First-quarter profit for DuPont Co. was up 26% due largely to record pesticide and biotech corn and soybean sales, according to Bloomberg.
Net income for the company climbed to US $1.19 billion, or $1.31 a share, from $945 million, or $1.01 a share last year. Sales gained 9.3% to $8.58 billion.
CEO Charles O. Holliday Jr. is investing in the company’s Pioneer unit, the world’s second-largest seed producer, to challenge Monsanto‘s lead in sales. Corn futures reached a record this month, and soybeans hit an all-time high in March, giving farmers more to spend on biotech seeds and crop protection chemicals, as well as expanding crop areas where they could.
2008 Forecast
Profit for the full year is expected to rise to $3.40 to $3.55 a share, including $1.05 in the second quarter, DuPont said. Analysts in the survey estimated $3.48 for the year and $1.08 in the second quarter.
Operating profit in the agriculture unit increased 21% to $786 million. The unit accounted for one-third of DuPont’s sales in the quarter, typically the strongest period because growers in the Northern Hemisphere are preparing for spring planting. Soybean sales in the US may be “very strong” in the second quarter, Holliday added.
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