Christopher Doering

cdoering@gannett.com

WASHINGTON — DuPont Co., the parent of Johnston seed company DuPont Pioneer, increased its earnings outlook for 2016 on Tuesday on improved results in its agricultural division.

DuPont said the company, which is merging with rival Dow Chemical, benefited during its first quarter from higher corn plantings and a slightly weaker U.S. dollar. A drop in the dollar's value versus other currencies makes products from DuPont and other U.S. companies cheaper for buyers overseas.

DuPont reported a profit of $1.23 billion, or $1.39 a share, for the quarter ended March 31. The total is up from $1.03 billion, or $1.13 a share, a year ago. DuPont’s sales in the period fell 6 percent to $7.41 billion.

Sales of agricultural products, DuPont’s largest division, were $3.786 billion, down 4 percent from a year earlier but at a smaller rate of decline than many of its rivals.

For the full year, DuPont said it now expects to earn $3.05 to $3.20 per share, up from $2.95 to $3.10 a share.

DuPont, Monsanto, John Deere and others in the agricultural sector have announced job cuts and falling income as farmers deal with a prolonged downturn in corn and soybean prices, forcing them to cut spending for seed, tractors and other supplies. Despite the slump, average prices for agriculture products sold by DuPont during the quarter rose 2 percent, according to the company.

“Much of the quarter’s strength was due to ag,” Ed Breen, DuPont’s CEO, told analysts.

But he cautioned it’s still too soon to predict the overall 2016 forecast.

“Planting is just beginning in the Northern Hemisphere, and at this point it’s too early to call the year for ag. There are still a number of difficult macro variables,” he said.

Last month, the Agriculture Department forecast corn plantings will rise 6 percent to 93.6 million acres — the third-most since 1944. Soybeans are expected to drop slightly to 82.2 million acres, down less than 1 percent from a year ago but still the third-highest on record.

DuPont is merging with Dow Chemical in a $130 billion deal and then splitting into three companies within two years — agriculture, material sciences and specialty products. Although Iowa lost out to Delaware in its bid to secure a major agricultural headquarters, the state is expected to keep the roughly 2,600 jobs that are part of DuPont Pioneer in Johnston, the chemical and seed giants announced in February.

$17M deal: No DuPont ag HQ, but no jobs lost either

Breen said the company remains pleased with its progress on the deal and is closely working with regulators and other officials. He said the company is "shooting for October-November" to close the transaction.

Shares in DuPont rose Tuesday $1.58 to $67.55 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Contact Christopher Doering at cdoering@usatoday.com or reach him at Twitter: @cdoering