Dow Chemical Adjusted Profit Beats Expectations

Dow Chemical Co. reported Thursday first-quarter earnings of $169 million, or 15 cents a share, down from $1.39 billion, or $1.18 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, such as one-time legal charges related to urethane matters, adjusted earnings per share came to 89 cents, beating the FactSet consensus of 83 cents. Sales fell to $10.703 billion from $12.370 billion, due primarily to price declines in the hydrocarbons business, but were just above the FactSet consensus of $10.663 billion. The chemical giant said it remains on track with its mergers with Dow Corning and DuPont & Co. deals. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has climbed 4.1% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 2.5%.