3 key takeaways from DuPont’s Q1 earnings report

DuPont de Nemours Inc. (NYSE: DD) said on Tuesday its profit and sales in the fiscal first quarter came in better than what analysts had anticipated. All of its business segments, the company added, showed resilience in recent months as it raised its guidance for the full financial year.

1. Financial performance

DuPont reported £3.88 billion of net income in the first quarter that translates to £6.41 per share. In the comparable quarter of last year, it had posted £434.44 million of loss, or 59.75 pence per share.

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Adjusted for one-time items, the chemicals company earned 65.51 pence per share in Q1. DuPont valued its sales in the recent quarter at £2.87 billion that represents a year over year growth of 8.3%.

According to FactSet, experts had forecast the company to record £2.77 billion of sales in the first quarter. Their estimate for adjusted per-share earnings was capped at a lower 53.99 pence. In separate news from the United States, KKR & Co said its earnings climbed by 63% in the fiscal first quarter, attributed primarily to its capital markets business.

2. Share buyback and guidance for the full year

For the full financial year, DuPont now forecasts up to £2.70 of adjusted per-share earnings. The Wilmington-based firm expects its sales to fall in the range of £11.30 billion to £11.45 billion in fiscal 2021.

The board authorised a new share repurchase programme worth £1.08 billion on Tuesday. DuPont bought back £359.93 million of its stock in Q1.

3. Chief executive’s remarks

Commenting on milestones hit in the first quarter, CEO Ed Breen said on Tuesday:

“During the first quarter, we completed the separation of our Nutrition & Biosciences business via a tax-free split and signed agreements to divest our Clean Technologies and Solamet businesses and expect all three transactions will deliver approximately $8 billion in gross proceeds. Additionally, we announced a definitive agreement to acquire Laird Performance Materials, which complements our Electronics & Industrial segment. The planned acquisition of Laird Performance Materials is part of our strategy of growing as a global innovation leader through targeted M&A.”

Impact on the share price

DuPont shares tanked more than 1% in premarket trading on Tuesday and lost another 0.75% on market open. The stock, however, recovered the entire intraday loss later on to trade at a per-share price of £56.55. At the time of writing, DuPont is valued at £30.20 billion.