DuPont cuts 2022 forecast as higher material costs bite

[May 03, 2022]   (Reuters) -DuPont de Nemours on Tuesday cut its annual sales and earnings forecast to reflect higher raw material and logistics costs, sending the industrial materials maker's shares down 5% in premarket trade.

A logo is pictured outside of Dupont offices in Geneva, Switzerland, April 15, 2021. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

The company, once part of the erstwhile chemical giant DowDuPont, has been hard hit by rising costs for raw materials and energy, as well as other inflationary pressures due to global supply chain challenges prompted by the pandemic and now intensified by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"We anticipate key external uncertainties in the macro environment, namely COVID-related shutdowns in China, will further tighten supply chains resulting in slower volume growth and sequential margin contraction in the second quarter 2022", Chief Executive Officer Ed Breen said in a statement.

Shares of DuPont were down as much as 5.92% at $62 in premarket trading.

The company cut its full-year net sales forecast for continuing operations to between $13.3 billion and $13.7 billion from a previously outlined forecast of $17.4 billion and $17.8 billion.

It also expects full-year adjusted earnings to be between $3.2 and $3.5 per share, compared with its previous forecast of $4.60 to $4.90 per share.

Adjusted earnings for the first quarter of 82 cents per share came above expectations of 67 cents per share for the company, which makes electronic materials used in chip packaging, mobile devices and autonomous vehicles.

(Reporting by Rithika Krishna in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)

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