Price pressures and weather hit DuPont business

10 July 1998

Price pressures and weather hit DuPont business

Chemicals company DuPont warned it was expecting a 10-15% fall in second quarter earnings when it reports on 22 July.

The weather and competitive price pressures hurt its crop protection business in North America. And farmers in the Midwest skipped some crop sprayings because of persistent rain.

However, Charles Holliday, DuPont president and chief executive officer, said competitive pricing pressures should stabilise. Some analysts see it as an omen that pressures in the sector are mounting because of expansion by the likes of Zeneca, Novartis and Monsanto.