DowDuPont Slips as Farming Weakness Prompts $4.6 Billion Charge
- Chemical giant sees deteriorating market for seeds, pesticides
- Electronics, polymers also at risk of revaluing, analyst says
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DowDuPont Inc. fell after cutting the asset value of its DuPont Co. agriculture business by $4.6 billion, less than nine months before a planned spinoff of the seed-and-pesticide unit.
The impairment charge reflects weaker markets for farm products since last year’s merger with Dow Chemical Co., DuPont said in a regulatory filing. Reduced planting areas and delays in product registrations mean that sales will grow more slowly, while an unfavorable shift to soybeans from corn in Latin America will dent profits.