DuPont Co., one of the nation's biggest chemicals companies, on Tuesday said second-quarter profit more than doubled, aided by one-time gains and the ability to offset increased material costs with higher prices.
DuPont, whose products range from auto finishes to textiles and genetically modified seeds, reported earnings of $1.01 billion, or $1.01 per share, for the three months ended June 30 compared with $503 million, or 50 cents per share, in the prior-year period.
The quarter's results included a net benefit of $111 million from asset sales, the favorable settlement of a tax audit, and restructuring costs. The result was an increase to earnings of 11 cents per share, DuPont said. Similar items reduced year-ago net income by 30 cents per share.
Net sales, which exclude transfers and sales from equity affiliates, totaled $7.51 billion, down slightly from $7.53 billion a year ago.
Wall Street's average forecast for the quarter was 96 cents per share, the mean estimate of 12 analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial, on projected revenue of $7.67 billion.
DuPont Chairman and CEO Charles O. Holliday Jr. said, "Continued success with pricing and sales from new products were key to our strength in the quarter."
DuPont also said it was "confident" it would exceed its earnings growth goal of 10 percent this year, helped by higher prices, new products and growth in emerging markets. In April, DuPont backed its 2005 earnings forecast of $2.65 and $2.85 per share.
The company also expects to repatriate between $8 billion and $10 billion in foreign profits over the rest of this year, the upper end of its prior forecast, under the American Jobs Creation Act, a law passed last year that allows companies to return foreign income to the U.S. at a significantly reduced tax rate.
