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"Despite the impact of weaker demand in certain U.S. markets, this quarteris a good first step toward achieving our accelerated growth objectives,"Holliday said. "We're taking the right actions in attractive markets tomaximize value for shareholders."
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Global Consolidated Sales
Consolidated net sales increased 9 percent to $8.6 billion in the firstquarter. Sales outside the United States represented 62 percent of totalsales and increased 16 percent, while sales in the U.S. were equal to lastyear. A summary of first quarter 2008 worldwide and regional sales performanceis shown below.
Net Income and Earnings Per Share
Net income for the first quarter 2008 was $1,191 million, or $1.31 pershare. First quarter 2007 net income was $945 million, or $1.01 per share,including a significant item charge of $52 million, or $.06 per share. Thetable below shows the variances in first quarter 2008 earnings per share (EPS)versus first quarter 2007.
The $0.03 per share variance in fixed costs, noted above, includesestimated savings from cost productivity projects during the first quarterwhich partially offset cost increases from growth investments and inflation.Fixed costs as a percent of sales decreased to 35.9 percent from 37.7 percentin the prior year.
Business Segment Performance
Segment sales and related percentage variances for first quarter 2008versus the prior year quarter are shown in the table below.
Segment pre-tax operating income (PTOI) for the first quarter 2008 was$1,851 million versus $1,579 million in the first quarter 2007. Excluding aprior-year significant item charge, segment PTOI increased 13 percent.
The following are business segment highlights comparing first quarter 2008results to first quarter 2007.
Additional information on segment performance is available on the DuPontInvestor Center website at http://www.dupont.com.
Outlook
The company today reaffirmed its full-year 2008 earnings outlook of $3.40to $3.55 per share and its first half 2008 earnings outlook for growth ofabout 10 percent, excluding significant items. The company also said itcontinues to expect second quarter earnings of about $1.05 per share. For theremainder of 2008, the company expects that slowing demand in U.S. markets,including construction and motor vehicle, will offset growth in agricultureand other markets outside the United States.
Use of Non-GAAP Measures
Management believes that measures of income excluding significant items("non-GAAP" information) are meaningful to investors because they provideinsight with respect to ongoing operating results of the company. Suchmeasurements are not recognized in accordance with generally acceptedaccounting principles (GAAP) and should not be viewed as an alternative toGAAP measures of performance. Reconciliations of non-GAAP measures to GAAPare provided in Schedule D.
DuPont (NYSE: DD) is a science-based products and services company.Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by creating sustainable solutionsessential to a better, safer, healthier life for people everywhere. Operatingin more than 70 countries, DuPont offers a wide range of innovative productsand services for markets including agriculture and food; building andconstruction; communications; and transportation.
Forward-Looking Statements: This news releas
