By Arshreet Singh
(Reuters) -DuPont de Nemours Inc raised its 2023 sales forecast on Wednesday, betting on demand picking up for its materials used to make a wide range of products including automotive components and semiconductors.
The chemicals maker had in May cut the top end of its annual revenue expectations, citing a slower-than-expected recovery in its electronics and industrial (E&I) markets.
“As we look at the current demand environment, we continue to expect fairly steady demand in most of our industrial-based end-markets within the E&I and W&P (water and protection) segments,” Chief Financial Officer Lori Koch said in a statement.
For the semiconductor business, the company expects sales in the second half to improve slightly after an expected bottom in the second quarter.
DuPont raised its annual sales forecast to between $12.45 billion and $12.55 billion from between $12.3 billion and $12.5 billion. Analysts on average were expecting $12.44 billion, according to Refinitiv data.
The company in May trimmed the top end of its annual sales forecast to $12.50 billion from $12.90 billion.
The water solutions business could see sales moderation due to slowing demand in China, the company said. The segment reported mid-teens rise in sales in the reported quarter.
Meanwhile, third-quarter earnings forecast of 84 cents per share was below estimates of 93 cents, even as cost controls helped top April-June profit expectations.
“We have been very aggressive on control and discretionary spend to minimize the decrementals… We did a small restructuring to be able to reduce some headcount primarily in the general and administrative space,” Koch said on a post-earnings call.
On an adjusted basis, the company earned 85 cents per share, beating estimates of 83 cents.
Revenue fell 7% to $3.1 billion as sales in China tumbled 14%, driven by weak demand for electronics.
(Reporting by Arshreet Singh; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Sriraj Kalluvila)
