DuPont 2Q profit climbs; lifts outlook for year

NEW YORK (AP) - Chemical maker DuPont Co. said Tuesday its net income nearly tripled in the second quarter as revenue surged in most of its businesses and it raised prices.

The Wilmington, Del., company also raised its earnings forecast for the year, saying it expects to continue to benefit from higher prices, growing sales and better efficiency. DuPont now expects a profit of $2.90 to $3.05 per share this year, up from its previous forecast of $2.50 to $2.70 per share. Analysts expect $2.64 per share on average.

Its shares rose $1.86, or 4.8 percent, to $40.85 in pre-opening trading.

DuPont, which makes a wide range of chemicals and many other products including Teflon and Kevlar, said its net income rose to $1.16 billion, or $1.26 per share, from $417 million, or 46 cents per share. Excluding a gain related to a tax settlement, DuPont earned $1.17 per share.

Analysts expected earnings of 93 cents per share, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters.

A year ago the company posted a charge of $340 million after announcing thousands of job cuts as results were hurt by the weak economy. In May 2009, the company said it would eliminate 2,000 jobs. The previous fall it said it would lay off 2,500 workers and eliminate about 10,000 contractor jobs.

Revenue grew 26 percent to $8.62 billion from $6.86 billion, beating analyst estimates of $8.27 billion. Most of the revenue leap was due to higher volume, but price increases also drove results. About 5 percent of the increase was due to higher prices, DuPont said.

The company said the global economy is recovering, and several of its businesses are doing better than they were before the recession.

Revenue in all regions posted double-digit growth, led by the Asia Pacific region, where revenue rose 47 percent to $1.8 billion. Emerging markets revenue also soared, improving 32 percent. Revenue in the U.S. - which makes up the biggest part of its business - rose 18 percent to $3.6 billion, while revenue in Europe, the Middle East and Africa rose 24 percent to $2.1 billion.

DuPont said revenue in agriculture and nutrition, its biggest segment which includes products such as livestock disinfectants and herbicides, rose 16 percent to $3 billion. Revenue from performance materials rose 45 percent to $1.6 billion, and revenue from performance chemicals rose 26 percent to $1.6 billion. Revenue from the electronics and communications business jumped 53 percent to $657 million.