DuPont beats by $0.02, reports revs in-line; guides Q1 EPS below consensus, revs in-line; guides FY24 EPS in-line, revs in-line; new $1 bln buyback with a $500 mln ASR; ups dividend 6% (61.21)
- Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.87 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the FactSet Consensus of $0.85; revenues fell 6.6% year/year to $2.9 bln vs the $2.92 bln FactSet Consensus.
- Co issues guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.63-0.65, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.67 FactSet Consensus; sees Q1 revs of ~$2.8 bln vs. $2.85 bln FactSet Consensus.
- "We expect sequential sales improvement and an approximate ten percent increase in operating EBITDA in the second quarter of 2024 from first quarter driven by some inventory destocking abatement, seasonality factors and realization of cost savings."
- "Our current expectation for full year 2024 forecasts a return to year-over-year sales and earnings growth in the second half driven by anticipated electronics market recovery, including improvement in semiconductor fab utilization rates, as well as improved orders within industrial markets as customer inventory levels normalize"
- Co issues in-line guidance for FY24, sees EPS of $3.25-3.65, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $3.58 FactSet Consensus; sees FY24 revs of $11.9-12.3 bln vs. $12.28 bln FactSet Consensus.
- Additionally, DuPont announced that its Board of Directors approved a new share repurchase program authorizing the repurchase and retirement of up to $1 billion of common stock (the "$1B Program"). DuPont intends to enter into ASR transactions under the $1B Program beginning with an ASR transaction expected to be launched imminently to repurchase in aggregate $500 million of common stock. DuPont expects to complete the $1B Program by the end of 2024.
- The Company today also announced that its Board of Directors has declared a first quarter dividend of $0.38 per share on its outstanding common stock, representing a 6% increase to its quarterly dividend, payable March 15, 2024, to holders of record at the close of business on February 29, 2024.