Business News
DuPont Focuses on Accelerated Revenue Growth and Emerging Markets
Thursday 18. September 2008 - Emerging Markets Expected to Generate Half of Company's Sales Growth Over Next Two Years
DuPont (NYSE:DD) is well-positioned for accelerated growth, particularly in emerging markets, Executive Vice President Ellen J. Kullman told investors today.
“We’re positioning our market-driven science company to grow at a faster pace, or about 6 to 7 percent organic sales growth to 2010 and beyond,” Kullman said. “Excluding acquisitions, we expect sales to grow about $6 billion from 2007 to 2010, half of which will come from emerging markets.”
DuPont already has a solid foundation in emerging markets, where the company has established strong brands, reputation and key local relationships. Over the past five years, DuPont has grown in emerging markets at a compounded growth rate of 16 percent and, in 2007, sales into emerging markets exceeded $7 billion.
The company’s approach to growth outside the United States focuses on three key development cycles used in a country or sub-region: securing and building market access; strengthening capabilities to serve local customers and upgrading routes to market; and optimizing market presence.
“In Brazil, for example, where DuPont sales topped $1.5 billion in 2007, the company is a clear leader in agriculture,” Kullman said, noting half of the company’s 2007 sales in Brazil were from the Agriculture & Nutrition segment. “Our Pioneer corn seed sales in Brazil have been steadily gaining market share over the past decade, both in corn and soybeans. For corn, in particular, we gained 23 market share points in the last 10 years in a fast growing market. Our agriculture sales in Brazil will approach $1 billion in 2008.
“Growth trends in Brazil focus on more than a strong agriculture market with increased food exports. They also show a dramatic rise in demand for vehicles, where DuPont’s strength in coatings, engineering polymers and elastomers play a key role,” Kullman added.
Another critical emerging market for DuPont is India, where DuPont’s sales in 2007 totaled more than $400 million. As the fourth largest and one of the fastest growing economies in the world, India provides a tremendous opportunity for DuPont in a trillion-dollar economy with a strong growth rate in the high single digits. Demographic change is under way in India, with more women in the work force and dramatic growth among the middle class — triggering more disposable income and an unprecedented demand for goods, services and brands. DuPont is poised to help fulfill the country’s transportation and construction needs with a portfolio of products that range from engineering polymers to building innovations.
“Emerging markets present us with tremendous growth opportunities,” Kullman added. “Clearly, these economies are growing significantly faster than the United States or other developed countries. But more importantly, the potential for DuPont penetration into these economies is enormous. If we had the same penetration in the top 50 developing countries that we have in the United States, our global sales would increase by $20 billion. And that makes emerging markets our biggest growth opportunity.”