(Reuters) – Industrial materials maker DuPont de Nemours reported a 63% surge in second-quarter profit on Tuesday, bolstered by strong demand for electronics and construction materials.
DuPont, which makes electronic materials used in chip packaging and mobile devices, said it benefited from a firm demand for high-end semiconductor technologies boosted by growth in 5G communications and data centers, amid an ongoing transition to more advanced node technologies.
Sales from electronics and industrial unit, one of the company’s highest revenue generating segments, rose 16% to $1.53 billion in the quarter, while the water and protection segment, which provides treatment and purification technologies, brought in $1.5 billion, up 6% from a year earlier.
“Underlying demand during the quarter in our key end-markets remained strong”, Chief Executive Officer Ed Breen said in a statement.
The company, once part of the erstwhile chemical giant DowDuPont, lowered its full-year adjusted earnings to be between $3.27 and $3.43 per share, compared with its previous guidance of $3.2 to $3.5, citing impact from foreign currency headwinds and divestiture of its biomaterials unit.
It also toned down annual net sales forecast to between $13 billion and $13.4 billion, from $13.3 billion and $13.7 billion outlined earlier.
To offset the inflationary pressures, Dupont hiked prices of its products by 8% during the quarter.
The company’s net income was $795 million, or $1.55 per share, in the three months ended June 30, compared with $487 million, or 90 cents per share, a year earlier.
Total sales jumped 7% to $3.32 billion.
(Reporting by Rithika Krishna in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
