Kullman to Retire as CEO of DuPont, Company Outlook Reduced
06 Oct 2015 --- Ellen Kullman, Chair and CEO of DuPont, has announced that she will retire from the company effective October 16. On that date, Edward Breen, a current member of the DuPont Board of Directors, will assume the role of Interim Chair and CEO of DuPont. The Board has engaged an executive recruitment firm to identify a full-time replacement.
“Over the past seven years, with the dedication of our entire team, we have transformed this great company by focusing our portfolio, streamlining the organization, and driving innovation that leverages our unique science and engineering capabilities. With a strong foundation in place now is the right time for a new leader to continue to drive the pace of change to capitalize fully on the opportunity ahead,” said Kullman. “I want to express my sincere thanks and admiration to all of my DuPont colleagues around the world. I have complete confidence that they will realize the enormous potential of the next generation DuPont.”
“We thank Ellen for her extraordinary leadership as Chair and CEO of DuPont. During more than 27 years with the company, Ellen has consistently led constructive change by focusing the organization on identifying and solving our customers’ needs. As our Chair and CEO, Ellen led DuPont through the global recession and the dramatic transformation of the last several years with the highest standard of integrity and commitment,” said Alexander Cutler, DuPont’s Lead Independent Director. “Ed Breen’s record of achievement and broad experience make him well-suited to lead the company while the Board completes its search for the next executive to lead DuPont,” Mr. Cutler said. “Ellen is an outstanding leader and the entire Board appreciates her long record of accomplishment at DuPont,” said Breen. “As we confront a challenging environment, she and the management team already have taken actions to accelerate cost reductions. Looking ahead, we will continue to drive productivity, and we plan to conduct a deep dive into the details of our cost structure and allocation of capital to ensure we deliver appropriate returns for shareholders. DuPont’s unique science capabilities and leading positions in attractive growth markets are strong competitive advantages and we are committed to build on that base to drive DuPont’s performance.”
DuPont announced that it now expects operating earnings per share for the full year to be approximately $2.75, compared with the prior guidance of $3.10. The revised outlook primarily reflects continued strengthening of the U.S. dollar versus currencies in emerging markets, particularly the Brazilian Real; and a further weakening of agricultural markets, primarily in Brazil. The new guidance assumes full-year currency impacts of $0.72 per share, versus the prior expectation of approximately $0.60 per share. Excluding the impact of currency, the revised guidance for full-year operating earnings per share, including expected benefits from share repurchases and cost savings, represents an approximately 3 percent increase in operating earnings per share year over year. The company now expects second-half operating earnings per share to be approximately $0.40, compared with the prior guidance of $0.75. Approximately 25 percent of expected second-half operating earnings will be earned in the third quarter. Prior year operating earnings were $3.36 and $0.96 per share for the full year and second-half 2014, respectively. Reconciliations of non-GAAP measures are included at the end of this release. Demand for crop protection and seed products, primarily in Brazil, further weakened in the third quarter impacted by macroeconomic and competitive pressures. In Brazil, where the planting season is in progress, tighter farmer profit margins and credit are causing growers to be more cautious in their spending. The company is experiencing reduced demand for crop protection products reflecting low insect pressure and lower seed volumes as growers are expected to reduce hybrid corn planted area.
The U.S dollar continues to strengthen versus currencies in emerging markets. The Brazilian Real has declined more than 60 percent year over year and approximately 20 percent since the company reported second-quarter results. In response to these macro conditions, the company announced that it is accelerating, by one year, its operational redesign cost saving actions and as result, expects to achieve $1.3 billion of savings on a run rate basis by the end of 2016. In addition, the company announced its commitment to achieving additional cost savings as a part of its operational redesign and is targeting approximately $1.6 billion on a run rate basis by the end of 2017. Plans related to the additional cost savings are expected to be finalized in the fourth quarter.
Nick Fanandakis, DuPont’s Chief Financial Officer, said, “As macro conditions have deteriorated further, we are intensifying our effort to offset these pressures with further productivity improvements and cost savings, while making disciplined and targeted investments in innovation to increase value for shareholders over the long term. While we are experiencing challenging market conditions this season in Brazil, we continue to see long-term strategic growth opportunities for our products. Over the long term, we believe our pipeline of new products and our portfolio of capabilities position us well in global agriculture markets.”
