DOVER, Del. (AP) - The DuPont Co. says weakness in performance chemicals and electronics and communications, coupled with costs associated with growth initiatives, led to a sharp drop in fourth-quarter income.
The company on Tuesday reported net income for the quarter ending Dec. 31 of $111 million, or 12 cents per share. That's down from $373 million, or 40 cents per share, for the fourth quarter of 2011.
The results beat the consensus estimate of Wall Street analysts of 7 cents per share.
Sales for the quarter were flat at $7.3 billion.
For the full year, DuPont earned about $2.8 billion, or $2.95 per share, on sales of about $34.8 billion. That's down from last year's net income of about $3.5 billion, or $3.68 per share, on sales of about $33.7 billion.
