Dupont Reports 4Q And Full-Year Operating EPS Of $0.27 & $2.77

Fourth-Quarter Highlights

• Fourth-quarter operating earnings per share were $0.27, in line with expectations, versus $0.57 in prior year. GAAP¹ (losses) earnings per share were ($0.26) versus $0.63 in prior year.
• Excluding currency, sales declined 1 percent. Currency negatively impacted sales by an additional 8 percent.
• Segment pre-tax operating earnings of $553 million included $170 million, or $0.17 per share, of negative impact from currency. Growth in Industrial Biosciences and Nutrition & Health was more than offset by declines in Agriculture, Performance Materials, Safety & Protection and Electronics & Communications.
• Cost reductions from operational redesign contributed an incremental $0.10 per share to fourth-quarter operating earnings.
• Actions underway for 2016 global cost savings and restructuring plan, expected to reduce operating costs² by about $1.0 billion on run-rate basis by end of 2016, which represents about $730 million in cost reductions in 2016 versus prior year.
• Completed $2 billion accelerated share repurchase program; announces first quarter dividend of $0.38 per share.

Full-Year Highlights

• Reported full-year operating earnings per share of $2.77 versus $3.36 in prior year. Operating earnings, excluding negative currency impact of $0.71 per share, increased 4 percent. GAAP¹ earnings per share were$2.09 versus $3.39 in prior year.
• Excluding currency and portfolio, sales declined 3 percent. Currency and portfolio negatively impacted sales by an additional 7 percent and 2 percent, respectively.
• Segment pre-tax operating earnings of $4.2 billion included approximately $785 million of negative impact from currency. Operating margins expanded in each segment, except Agriculture, on cost reductions and productivity.
• Cost reductions from 2014 operational redesign are essentially complete and contributed an incremental $0.40per share to full-year operating earnings.

DuPont (NYSE: DD), a science company that brings world-class, innovative products, materials, and services to the global marketplace, today announced fourth-quarter 2015 operating earnings of $0.27 per share compared with $0.57 per share in the prior year.  GAAP¹ (losses) earnings were ($0.26) per share, compared with $0.63 per share in the prior year.  Refer to Schedule B for details of significant items.

For the full-year 2015, DuPont delivered operating earnings of $2.77 per share, compared with $3.36 per share in the prior year.  GAAP¹ earnings were $2.09 per share, compared with $3.39 per share in the prior year.

Fourth-quarter sales were $5.3 billion, down 9 percent versus prior year due to negative impacts from currency (8 percent) and volume (1 percent).  Full-year sales were $25.1 billion, down 12 percent versus prior year due to negative impacts from currency (7 percent), portfolio (2 percent) and volume (3 percent).

DuPont’s board of directors approved a first-quarter dividend of 38 cents per share, the 446^th consecutive quarterly dividend since the company’s first dividend in the fourth quarter of 1904. The first-quarter dividend of 38 cents per share of common stock is payable on March 14, 2016, to stockholders of record at the close of business on Feb. 12, 2016. Regular quarterly dividends of $1.125 per share on the $4.50 series preferred stock and $0.875 cents per share on the $3.50 series preferred stock also were declared, both payable on April 25, 2016, to stockholders of record as of April 8, 2016.

On Dec. 11, 2015, DuPont and The Dow Chemical Company announced that their boards of directors unanimously approved a definitive agreement under which the companies will combine in an all-stock merger of equals.  The combined company will be named DowDuPont.  The merger is expected to close in the second half of 2016, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, and approval by both Dow and DuPont shareholders. The parties intend to subsequently pursue a separation of DowDuPont into three independent, publicly traded companies through tax-free spin-offs. These separations would occur as soon as feasible, subject to regulatory and board approval.

“We are making progress on key initiatives, including further improving our cost structure and restructuring our organization to enhance our competitiveness,” said Ed Breen, Chair and CEO of DuPont. “In this pivotal year for DuPont we have three priorities: deliver operating earnings growth while positioning our businesses to compete successfully over the long term; continue to improve our capital allocation and working capital performance; and complete the proposed merger of equals with Dow.  Our merger process is on track. We are meeting key milestones and have begun our planning to create three strong, highly focused, independent businesses in agriculture, material science and specialty products.”