nach Alcoa der 2 Dow-Component mit schlechten Zahlen...mal sehen, ob das die Bullenherde stört...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - DuPont (DD.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the No. 2 U.S. chemicals maker, on Wednesday slashed its profit outlook for the fourth quarter on a mixture of hurricane-related operational disruptions as well as weak sales and higher costs in three of its businesses.
Shares in DuPont fell more than 3 percent in pre-market trading on the news and weighed on the broader market. It was the second time in about three months that DuPont lowered analysts' expectations for its results in the fourth quarter, citing the effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
"Management is under scrutiny to execute. We believe that they can, we're just waiting for it to happen," said Gene Pisasale, analyst with Mercantile Trust in Baltimore, which has $25 billion under management.
DuPont said a lower-than-expected tax rate will only partially offset the shortfall, leading to earnings of about 10 cents per share in the quarter. DuPont previously forecast earnings per share of 20 cents to 25 cents, and analysts polled by Reuters Estimates on average expected 24 cents per share.
DuPont becomes the latest raw-materials company to indicate that Katrina and Rita, though long passed, continue to significantly affect operations.
Earlier this week Alcoa (AA.N: Quote, Profile, Research) posted a disappointing profit as the hurricanes affected both production and materials costs, and oil major BP Plc (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said the hurricane-related shutdown of the Texas City refinery and other storm damage cost it $1 billion in lost profit and repairs.
Lower-than-expected sales and higher-than-expected costs in crop protection chemicals, performance coatings and surfaces also hurt results in the quarter, DuPont said, though it did not quantify the impact.
Shares in DuPont were off $1.45 at $41.10 in trading on Inet. The stock fell 13.3 percent in 2005, compared with a decline of 0.6 percent for the Dow Jones Industrial Average , of which it is a component.
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