Accelerated cost reduction actions,
record performance by Dow AgroSciences and lower raw material costs help offset
challenging economic condition.
First Quarter 2009 Highlights
- Earnings were $0.03 per share, or $0.12 per share
excluding certain items, as cost control actions and price/volume management
mitigated the effects from the worst global recession in decades.
- Agricultural Sciences set quarterly records for both
sales and EBIT. Sales for the segment increased 10% on a year-over-year basis,
reflecting a 10% increase in volume.
- Purchased feedstock and energy costs were down 49%
compared to the same quarter last year, contributing to a 20% decline in
selling prices, with the majority of the decline in the Basics
segments.
- EBIT excluding certain items improved sequentially,
with the largest percentage improvement coming from the Performance segments,
above and beyond the seasonality of Agricultural Sciences.
- Rapid actions to reduce operating costs in the
quarter resulted in a decrease in spending of $270 million year-over-year and
sequentially. Capital spending was down 35% in the quarter, in line with the
company’s pre-acquisition 2009 capital spending commitment of $1.1 billion.
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