DuPont hikes guidance as semiconductor demand drives strong Q2 beat

Shares in DuPont de Nemours were rising strongly in pre-market trade on Wednesday after the American chemicals company beat both profit and revenue estimates in its second quarter, and raised its full-year projections.

The company, simply known as DuPont, reported a 2% year-on-year increase in net sales to $3.2bn in the three months to 30 June, ahead of the $3.1bn consensus estimate.

Income from continuing operations slumped 35% to $176m, with adjusted earnings per share rose 14% to 97 cents, well ahead of the 85 cents expected by the market.

Chief executive Lori Koch said results reflected "positive momentum led by further broad-based electronics market recovery, along with sequential improvement within all W&P [water and protection] lines of business, including water and medical packaging end-markets".

Net sales within the Electronics & Industrial division jumped 15% on last year, with Semiconductor Technologies revenues rising 20% on an organic basis, due to "continued semiconductor demand recovery, AI-driven technology ramps as well as higher volume for OLED materials led by new product launches".

Looking ahead, DuPont is now forecasting a full-year net sales figure of $12.4-12.5bn, up from earlier guidance of $12.1-12.4bn, while adjusted EPS is tipped to come in at $3.70-3.80, up from $3.45-3.75 previously.

Pre-market futures were up 5.7% at $84.98 by 0632 in New York.