DuPont Titanium Technologies, a part of EI DuPont de Nemours & Co. (DD), announced a net price increase of 250 Euros per metric tonne, for all DuPont™ Ti-Pure® titanium dioxide (TiO2) grades of all countries in which invoicing is in Euro, namely the countries of Western and Central Europe and the North African region. The price increase comes into effect from June 1, 2011.
DuPont Titanium Technologies also announced price increase of $500 per metric tonne for all DuPont™ Ti-Pure® titanium dioxide (TiO2) grades of all countries in which invoicing is in U.S. dollar, namely the countries of Eastern Europe, Middle East and the Sub-Saharan African region.
Recently, DuPont reported an increase in profit to $1.43 billion or $1.52 per share in the first quarter of 2011 from $1.13 billion or $1.24 per share in the comparable quarter last year. The profit exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 15 cents per share.
The improvement in profit was attributable to higher sales in the developing markets and strong volumes, especially in Safety & Protection, Agriculture & Nutrition and Electronics & Communications segments.
Sales in the quarter grew 18% to $10.0 billion, up from the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $9.3 billion. The increase in sales reflected a 9% rise in sales volume, 8% increase in local price and 1% net increase from portfolio changes. Sales in the developing markets rose 30%.
DuPont upgraded its full-year 2011 earnings outlook to $3.65–$3.85 per share from its previous forecast of $3.45–$3.75 per share. This revision was attributable to the company’s strong earnings and execution of growth plans for global economic boom. As previously announced, the planned acquisition of Danisco could reduce earnings by 30 cents–45 cents per share on a reported basis in 2011.
DuPont is a global chemical and life sciences company, employing more than 60,000 people worldwide with a diverse array of product offerings. With over 21,000 patents and 15,000 patent applications worldwide, DuPont sells its products in diverse markets such as transportation, construction, apparel, agriculture, nutrition and health, packaging and electronics markets.
DuPont faces stiff competition from The Dow Chemical Company (DOW).
The company currently retains a Zacks #2 Rank on its stock, which translates to a short-term “Buy” rating. In addition, we reiterate our “Outperform” recommendation on the stock for the long term.
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