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DuPont reports 4th quarter loss

DuPont is posting a 9 percent drop in global sales for the final quarter of 2015 as it heads into a year of major change and cutbacks.

 

The chemical giant plans to trim more than $700 million this year and about 10 percent of its global workforce as it seeks to merge with Dow Chemical.

They've already announced 1,700 of those layoffs in Wilmington, their corporate headquarters.

That news came at the end of the fourth quarter of 2015, when DuPont now says they lost big in the electronics, agriculture and performance materials sectors. They also saw a 30 percent drop in operating earnings per share for Q4.

It makes a 12 percent total drop in net sales for all of 2015, with a 53 percent drop in earnings for the year compared to 2014.

The company cites currency pressures in its biggest losses. It says lower sales of some of its biggest-name products, including Kevlar, were driven by the downturn in the oil and gas markets.

DuPont expects to recoup about 64 cents in earnings per share with its cost-cutting plan this year, making for a projected earnings increase of around 20 percent before the impacts of exchange rates.

They're also planning to split into three divisions when they merge with Dow -- agricultural chemicals, material sciences, and specialty products, which includes Kevlar and Tyvek.

So far, only specialty products is set to be housed in Delaware. State officials are angling to hang on to the ag sector, too, as DuPont and Dow forge their plans in the coming months.

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