DuPont Operating Profit Recedes by 16% in Q2

Sales of the DuPont group were virtually flat in Q2 2013, with the slight revenue setback of 1% to $9.8 billion blamed on poor pricing for the titanium dioxide business it plans to sell or spin off. Operating profit fell 16% year-on-year to $1.9 billion. Among business segments, Agriculture is credited with the best quarterly performance. For full year 2013, CEO Ellen Kullman said she expects DuPont to deliver earnings "modestly above 2012 results," thereby overcoming "steep declines" in the TiO2 market and economic headwinds in Europe.