August 16, 2007

DuPont announces about US$100 million in growth investments for 2007
 

Press release
 

DuPont has announced that about US$100 million in growth investments would be made in 2007.

At a two-day meeting in Iowa, US, DuPont leaders updated more than 50 investors on DuPont businesses serving the agriculture and bio-fuels markets.

"The synergies among agricultural biotechnology, bio-fuels and biomaterials are creating potential game-changing solutions to the global challenges we face today and significant growth opportunities for DuPont," commented DuPont Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer Tom Connelly.

DuPont said that the investments are targeted at accelerating new product launches, increasing the rate of genetic gain, expanding capacity for plant biotechnology discovery and development, increasing sales coverage, and more aggressive promotions.

With regard to savings from the company's restructuring programme, announced in December 2006, Erik Fyrwald, Group Vice President - DuPont Agriculture & Nutrition, said that Agriculture & Nutrition would generate savings of approximately US$20 million of the US$100 million target late in 2007, another US$40 million in savings in 2008, and the remaining US$40 million in savings in 2009.

Fyrwald expects that in 2007, DuPont Agriculture & Nutrition will deliver about 10 percent revenue growth and 20 percent pretax operating income (PTOI) growth before accounting for the accelerated growth investments.

Including the investments, PTOI growth would be about 10 percent, compared with a compound annual average growth rate of 14 percent since 2001.  

Joe Keaschall (right), Research Director, DuPont business 
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