DuPont Says It Will Miss Profit Forecasts

BALTIMORE — DuPont warned Wednesday that its fourth-quarter earnings would be less than half of what it had predicted because of the effects of last year’s Gulf Coast hurricanes, worse-than-expected business performance and higher raw-material costs.

The company also predicted that raw-material costs would rise further in 2006.

The news sent Wilmington, Del.-based DuPont’s stock down more than 3%.

DuPont CEO and Chairman Charles O. Holliday Jr. said the effects of the hurricanes had been underestimated and he was “extremely disappointed” by the fourth-quarter results.

“Our team has taken the actions necessary to get us back on track for our customers and shareholders and we’re going to do that.”

The company said it expected to report earnings of about 10 cents a share for the period, far beneath its October guidance of 20 cents to 25 cents a share. DuPont said results were hurt by suspended operations and logistical problems from hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the Gulf Coast, along with separate production interruptions at plants in Brazil, the Netherlands and elsewhere in the United States.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were looking for earnings of 24 cents a share, near the high end of the company’s October guidance.

DuPont shares fell $1.41, or 3.3%, to $41.14.

In addition, the company suffered from lower-than-expected sales of crop-protection chemicals and of performance coatings and surfaces, coupled with higher-than-expected costs for those same items.

Gene Pisasale, an analyst with Mercantile Trust in Baltimore, said the hurricane costs were one-time events whereas raw-material costs were a continuing concern.

“They underestimated them and that was a miscalculation,” Pisasale said.

DuPont is the latest in a string of companies -- such as aluminum producer Alcoa and oil company BP -- to cite the effects of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Although the effects of the hurricanes will diminish over time, Gary Pfeiffer, DuPont’s chief financial officer, said no immediate relief was in sight from higher costs.

“2006 is going to be a year, again, of very significant raw-materials cost increases for the products that we buy,” he said.