DuPont beats 3Q profit forecasts

After former CEO Ellen Kullman abruptly stepped down this month, Breen took over and is now currently handling the business decisions for the company.

Asked on a post-earnings call if DuPont was looking sell its farm unit, he said: “We will do what’s right for our shareholders to create value for them”.

“My immediate priority is to guide DuPont successfully through the current challenging time”, Mr. Breen said.

DuPont, which gets about 60 percent of its sales from outside North America, said net sales fell 17.5 percent to $4.87 billion in the third quarter ended September 30, missing the average analyst estimate of $5.3 billion.

One industry analyst said his company would be shocked if the management team at DuPont did not at least give the agriculture business at Dow a look, but such a large business as Dow has, rarely changes hands.

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.

Operating earnings per share at DuPont were 13 cents per share, versus 39 cents per share during the same quarter a year earlier.

The Wilmington, Del.-based company reported net income of $235 million, or 26 cents per share, compared with $433 million, or 47 cents per share, a year earlier. The strong and rising dollar also led to a few weakness in DuPont’s agriculture enterprise and weighed on a number of their other 5 units.

“I see more opportunity now than when I arrived three weeks ago”, Mr. Breen added.

The maker of Pioneer corn seeds and Kevlar fibers earlier this year defeated a campaign by activist investor Nelson Peltz and his Trian Fund Management L.P.to secure seats on DuPont’s board. DuPont reported Tuesday that its third-quarter earnings declined by almost 50%. Earnings, adjusted to account for discontinued operations and non-recurring gains, were 13 cents per share. “We remain on track with our revised annual guidance of operating earnings per share of about $2.75, an increase from the prior year of 3 percent excluding currency”.

But that beat the 11 cents per share that Wall Street analysts were expecting, according to Zacks Investment Research. Foreign-exchange shifts are expected to shave 72 cents a share off the bottom line this year, and the outlook also reflects a further weakening of agricultural markets, primarily in Brazil.