How Did DuPont’s Performance Materials Segment Perform in 2Q16?

E.I. du Pont de Nemours’ (DD) Performance Materials segment is the company’s second-largest revenue contributor. For 2Q16, the segment reported revenue of $1.33 billion, representing 18.9% of DuPont’s total revenue.

On a YoY (year-over-year) basis, this segment’s revenue remained flat. For 2Q16, the segment posted operating earnings of $325 million, as compared to $301 million in 2Q15, which implies an 8% YoY increase in operating earnings.

• The overall sales volume in this segment increased by 4% YoY.
• There was no foreign currency translation impact on this segment in 2Q16.

• DuPont expects its 3Q16 revenue to grow on higher volume in China and increase in automotive demand.
• In 3Q16, the absence of 16 million in net benefits from joint venture in 2015 will likely have an negative impact on this segment.
• DuPont expects low pricing pressure to continue through 2016, offsetting volume growth and resulting in flat revenue for the fiscal year.

Investors can indirectly hold DuPont by investing in the iShares Russell Top 200 ETF (IWL), which had 0.4% of its portfolio in DuPont on July 27, 2016. IWL’s other holdings include Dow Chemical (DOW), Monsanto (MON), and Praxair (PX), which have weights of 0.4%, 0.3%, and 0.22%, respectively.

Now let’s look into DuPont’s Industrial Biosciences segment.