DuPont Issues Q1, FY22 Outlook; Lifts Dividend; To Buy Back $1 Bln Shares
While reporting fourth-quarter results, chemical company DuPont De Nemours & Co. (DD) on Tuesday issued outlook for first quarter as well as fiscal 2022. The company also announced higher dividend and Board approval of new $1.0 billion share buyback program.
For the first quarter of 2022, the company expects adjusted earnings per share in the range of $0.94 to $1.00 per share, operating EBITDA between $940 and $980 million, and net sales between $4.2 and $4.3 billion.
On average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect earnings of $1.1 per share for the quarter on sales of $4.17 billion. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items.
Lori Koch, Chief Financial Officer of DuPont, said, “Consumer demand remains strong however raw material and logistics cost inflation is expected to continue to impact margins. We expect operating EBITDA margin in first quarter 2022 to be about flat with fourth quarter 2021 with continued improvement throughout 2022 to more normalized levels in the back half of the year.”
Further, for fiscal 2022, the company expects adjusted earnings per share in the range of $4.60 to $4.90, an increase of 10 percent at the mid-point versus 2021.
Net sales would be between $17.4 and $17.8 billion and operating EBITDA between $4.3 and $4.5 billion, an increase of 6 percent at the mid-point versus 2021. The company projects top-line volume growth and pricing gains to more than offset year-over-year raw material and logistics costs increases.
For the year, analysts expect earnings of $4.94 per share on sales of $17.38 billion.
DuPont announced that its Board of Directors has declared a first quarter dividend of $0.33 per share, representing a 10 percent increase to its regular quarterly dividend, payable March 15, to holders of record at the close of business on February 28.
The company also announced that its Board authorized a new $1.0 billion share buyback program which expires on March 31, 2023.
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