DuPont CEO says company hasn't hit full potential
Spiking demand for food, paint and electronics will push DuPont's
DuPont, the maker of Tyvek wrap for home construction and Kevlar for bulletproof vests, forecast earnings of $3.30 to $3.60 per share next year. Analysts expect $3.45, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Wall Street yawned at the news, sending the company's shares down 1.6 percent to $48.11 in morning trading.
Investors should expect consistent growth from us, CEO Ellen Kullman said. Our portfolio has yet to hit its full potential.
In a presentation to investors at the company-owned hotel attached to its Wilmington, Delaware, headquarters, the company forecast 2011 revenue of $33 billion to $34 billion. Analysts expect $33.42 billion.
DuPont also affirmed its 2010 earnings guidance of $3.10 per share.
Agricultural unit sales should grow 8 percent to 10 percent through 2015, and sales in electronics should grow 10 percent to 12 percent, Kullman said.
DuPont said it may use its available cash for acquisitions in 2011, including in the agricultural and safety industries.
It said it is evaluating a significant expansion of its titanium dioxide business. Global capacity to make the material, which is used in automobile paint, is extremely tight. Key DuPont competitors in making titanium dioxide include Huntsman Corp
(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; editing by Maureen Bavdek and John Wallace)
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