Midland, MI, April 27, 2006--Dow Chemical Co., reported first-quarter net income fell 10% on 3% higher revenue. Net fell to $1.21 billion, or $1.24 a share, from $1.35 billion, or $1.39, in the year-earlier period.
Revenue reached $12.02 billion from $11.68 billion. The year-earlier figure includes a gain of 5 cents on the sale of a 2.5%interest in the Equate joint venture.
A survey of analysts by Thomson First Call produced a consensus estimate of $1.17 of earnings on revenue of $12.26 billion for Dow Chemical. Profit margins thinned in the quarter: Prices rose 2% from a year earlier, but that was not enough to counter an increase of more than $800 million in feedstock and energy costs, the company said. "Volume in the quarter increased 1%, with strong growth in Latin America and steady demand in Europe and Asia Pacific, [damped] by a slowdown in demand across most businesses in the U.S, where customers delayed purchases in anticipation of lower prices," the company said in a statement.
