Wilmington, DE, Apr. 27--DuPont Co. said profits rose 25 percent in the first quarter on foreign exchange gains and sales of synthetic fibers and chemicals used to make electronics.
Net income rose to $668 million, or 66 cents a share, from $535 million, or 53 cents, a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Revenue increased 15 percent to $8.07 billion from $7.0 billion.
Chief Executive Charles Holliday on Friday will complete the sale of DuPont's Invista synthetic-fibers unit to focus on businesses with faster growth, such as chemicals used to make flat-screen computer monitors. Pre-tax profit at Invista, the world's biggest maker of nylon, soared to $150 million in the quarter from $5 million a year earlier.
"It's just Dupont's luck that when Invista starts to turn, they sell it," said David Begleiter, an analyst at Deutsche Bank who has a "buy" recommendation on the shares and owns none. "Overall, there were very strong volumes, a sign of general economic improvement."
Earnings per share, excluding some items, were 96 cents in the quarter. On that basis, DuPont was expected to earn 95 cents, the average estimate of 13 analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial. DuPont earlier this month said profit on that basis probably was 95 cents a share.
