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DowDuPont Forecast Trails Estimates as Ag Sales Face 'Tough Go'

  • Timeline for spinoffs speeds up to June 2019 completion
  • Overall cost savings after merger will rise by 10 percent
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DowDuPont Inc., created from the world’s biggest chemical merger, disappointed investors with lower-than-expected profit forecasts as it prepares to split into three independent companies next year.

First-quarter revenue and operating earnings will climb about 2 percent as the agriculture unit faces stiffer competition and a slow start to planting-season sales, the company said on a conference call Thursday. While the company expects growth to accelerate in the latter quarters, the full-year forecast also trailed analysts’ estimates.