DuPont earning well in Brazil

In the fourth quarter, flourishing agricultural business in Brazil helped the U.S. chemicals group DuPont to achieve an increase in profits before taking special items into account. The group announced that on this basis, earnings had been 57 Cents per share, compared with 45 Cents during the same period the year before.

"DuPont's strong growth in profits in the fourth quarter reflects our global presence", explained Board Chairman Charles Holliday. Including special items however, profits per share fell to 60 Cents from 94 Cents. Net profits fell by over 37 per cent to US$545 million. Turnover was at US$6.98 billion - up 11 per cent. At the beginning of January, the group had surprisingly increased its profit targets for this year despite the concerns over the American economy.