DuPont 4Q Earnings Down 43%

The DuPont Co. reported yesterday that its fourth-quarter profit fell 43% from 4Q 2004, saying the drop was due to the after-effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and rising energy costs, especially natural gas. The Wilmington, DE-based chemical giant also said that its performance was hurt by a Mississippi plant damaged in Hurricane Katrina that would not be fully operational until April, and unplanned outages at other facilities.
DuPont earned $153 million, or 16 cents a share, in the 2005 fourth quarter compared with $278 million, or 28 cents a share, in 4Q 2004. Sales and other revenue for the period were $6.2 billion compared with $6 billion. For the year, the company had sales and other revenue of $28.5 billion compared with $28 billion in 2004. Its profit was $2.1 billion, or $2.08 a share, compared with $1.8 billion, or $1.78 a share, in 2004.