DuPont Fourth-quarter Sales Drop 5%; Cites Strong Dollar

E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. said on Tuesday net profit for the fourth quarter climbed to $683 million, or 74 cents a share, compared with $185 million, or 20 cents a share, in the same period last year. Adjusted profit rose 20% to 71 cents, from 59 cents last year. Total revenue improved to $7.92 billion, up from $784 billion in the same quarter a year ago. However, net sales dropped 5% to $7.38 billion, partly due to negative currency impacts from a stronger dollar. Analysts polled by FactSet expected adjusted earnings of 71 cents a share on revenue of $7.8 billion. For 2015, DuPont expects operating earnings of $4 to $4.20 a share, which includes a 60 cent negative impact from the strong dollar. DuPont shares lost 1.5% in premarket action.