(Reuters) - DuPont's third-quarter profit scraped past the average analyst estimate as the company's cost-cutting efforts helped to boost operating margins in five of its seven businesses.
The biggest U.S. chemicals producer by market value said operating earnings rose 17 percent to $497 million, helping to offset weakness in its farm products unit, which accounts for about a fifth of consolidated net sales.
"Our increase in margins in a slow growth environment reflects the momentum we are building as we execute our plan ...," Chief Executive Ellen Kullman said in a statement.
The company said it expected "sluggish growth in the global economy, along with continuing headwinds in agriculture and from currency" in the fourth quarter.
On an adjusted basis, the company reported earnings of 54 cents per share, just above the average analyst estimate of 53 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
DuPont has unveiled plans to cut $1 billion in annual costs by 2019. The company is also spinning off its performance chemicals business, which makes materials such as Teflon and represents nearly 22 percent of consolidated net sales.The company is being pressured by activist investor Nelson Peltz to separate its agriculture, nutrition and health, and industrial biosciences divisions from the more volatile, but strong cash flow-generating materials businesses.
DuPont has rebuffed Peltz's demands, citing cost and research and development benefits from keeping all of its units under one roof.
Rival Dow Chemical Co
Net income attributable to DuPont rose to $433 million, or 47 cents per share, in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, from $285 million, or 30 cents per share, a year earlier.
Net sales fell 3 percent to $7.51 billion, missing the average analyst estimate of $7.95 billion.
Up to Monday's close of $67.88, DuPont's shares had risen 4.5 percent this year. The S&P 500 Diversified Chemicals index <.SPLRCCHMD> had inched up 1.4 percent.
(Reporting by Kanika Sikka and Swetha Gopinath in Bangalore; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
Relacionados
- El PSOE presenta 57 enmiendas por valor de 72,7 millones de euros para aumentar la inversión directa en C-LM
- Macroperación. erc aconseja a pp y psoe "que saquen la escoba y empiecen a barrer"
- Castellano aboga por "buscar puntos de encuentro" entre pp y psoe en corrupción y gestión política
- Patxi López dice que el PSOE "siempre" apoyará al Gobierno para preservar la legalidad
- El PSOE lleva al Congreso a votar hoy si respalda o no la privatización de Aena
