DowDuPont reported increased sales and net income in the third quarter.
GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) earnings per share from continuing operations was $0.21 a share. Adjusted earnings per share increased 35 percent to $0.74, compared with pro forma adjusted earnings per share in the year-ago period of $0.55.
Net sales increased 10 percent to $20.1 billion with gains in all divisions and all regions, from pro forma net sales of $18.3 billion during the same period a year ago.
Net sales grew double-digits in the Asia Pacific and high single digits in all other regions.
DowDuPont announced a new share repurchase program of $3 billion, which it expects to complete by the first intended spin-off. In addition, the company is increasing its cost-cutting (synergy) commitment to $3.6 billion from $3.3 billion and increasing the expected 2018 year-over-year savings to $1.5 billion from $1.4 billion.
“Our teams generated strong gains in volume, price and operating EBITDA by continuing to execute our growth strategy, capture cost synergies and drive productivity improvements,” said Ed Breen, the chief executive officer of DowDuPont. “Organic sales rose 10 percent, equally driven by volume and local price as customer demand remained strong. We delivered our year-over-year cost synergies and we are again raising our target, now to $3.6 billion. We are also reaffirming our full year 2018 EPS guidance provided in August with our second quarter earnings announcement. Each division is performing well, and we remain on track to complete the intended separations, beginning with Materials Science on April 1, followed by Agriculture and Specialty Products on June 1.”
“Global demand for our products remains strong, supported by solid fundamentals, including business investment, manufacturing output, job growth, and wage increases,” said Howard Ungerleider, chief financial officer of DowDuPont. “Going forward, we remain well positioned to continue to drive top-line gains from above-GDP demand growth for our products and new product launches, while further delivering productivity and cost synergy savings.”
