AgroPages-DuPont agriculture segment sales down 6% in Q1 2014-Agricultural news

DuPont agriculture segment sales down 6% in Q1 2014

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Sales of DuPont’s agriculture segment, including crop protection and seed business, decreased by 5.9% to $4,394 million in the first quarter ended March 31, 2014, and the PTOI dropped by 2.6% to $ 1,442 million y-o-y.

DuPont's agriculture segment sales results ($ million)
Q1 Ended March 31	Q1 2014	Q1 2013	Change %
Sales	4,394	4,669	-5.9
PTOI	1,442	1,481	-2.6
* pre-tax operating income excluding significant items

Operating earnings of DuPont’s agriculture segment were down by around 5% to $1,442 million, on lower volumes due to the earlier timing of seed shipments realized in the fourth quarter of 2013 versus the first quarter, lower corn planted area in Brazil's Safrinha season and in North America, and lower herbicide volumes in North America. This was partially offset by pricing gains in seeds, higher insecticide volumes in Latin America, and lower seed input costs.

Outlook

The company reaffirms its outlook for full-year 2014 operating earnings of $4.20-$4.45 per share, an increase of 8-15 percent from $3.88 per share earned in 2013, based on anticipated growth in global industrial market demand. The company also expects it will earn about 70 percent of its full year operating earnings per share in the first half.