United States Of America : DuPont Profits Up Despite Jump in Raw Material Costs

Special items and other factors helped offset non-cash pension expenses and higher raw material costs at DuPont''s Textiles & Interiors division (DTI) to allow the firm to post earnings and sales growth in the second quarter.

For the three months ended June 30, the Wilmington, Del.-based fibers and chemical giant reported a 24.3 percent jump in net income to $675 million, or 67 cents a diluted share. By comparison, last year the company had profits of $543 million, or 54 cents. Excluding special gains in this year''s quarter and one-time charges in the year-ago period, earnings per share would have been 62 cents versus 71 cents, respectively. Net revenues for the quarter grew 11.7 percent to $7.52 billion from $6.73 billion a year ago.

DTI swung back to recording operating profits of $17 million, an improvement over last year''s $50 million loss. The most recent quarter, however, included a $10 million benefit from an arbitration settlement with Unifi Inc., while the prior-year period included charges accruing to $209 million for restructuring activities. Excluding those items in both quarters, DTI''s operating income plunged 92.5 percent to $7 million from $93 million a year ago.