- DuPont's (DD) -0.7% premarket as Q1 earnings plummet by more than half from the year-ago quarter after losing the one-time boost from the sale of its coating business.
- DuPont estimates adverse winter weather reduced Q1 EPS by $0.07 due to increased operating costs and lost sales.
- Sales in DD's agricultural business fell 6% to $4.39B, as volume growth in the Americas was constrained by the harsh weather as well as shifts in the timing and planted area.
- However, volumes increased in the company's industrial segments and margins improved in almost all of them.
- Reaffirms guidance for FY 2014, sees EPS of $4.20-$4.45 vs. $3.88 last year and $4.32 analyst consensus, based on anticipated growth in global industrial market demand.