By Joshua Jamerson

Chemical giant DuPont Co., in the middle of its tie-up with rival Dow Chemical Co., said profit rose 8.4% in the latest period, helped by solid results in its agriculture and nutrition divisions amid lower costs.

The results topped Wall Street expectations.

DuPont's agriculture sales, its largest segment, reflected 3% volume growth, driven by higher corn seed and insecticide sales. Operating earnings rose 30% to $130 million in the nutrition division, helped by lower costs and broad volume growth led by probiotics and specialty proteins.

DuPont said operating costs fell 12% in the period.

DuPont and Dow last week said their shareholders approved the merger plans. The merged company, which would be called DowDuPont, will serve as a vehicle for reducing costs before breaking up 18 to 24 months after the merger closes. The new separate companies, each to be publicly traded, would focus on agriculture, material sciences and specialty products in nutrition and electronics.

Ed Breen, DuPont's chief executive, said the company expects the deal to close later the year.

For the second quarter, DuPont earned $1.02 billion, or $1.16 a share, compared with $940 million, or $1.03 a share, a year ago. DuPont estimated that foreign-exchange shifts lowered its per-share earnings by a nickel in the quarter.

Excluding certain items, the company earned $1.24 a share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had forecast operating income of $1.10 a share.

DuPont's sales in the quarter edged down 0.8% to $7.06 billion. The company said volume growth of 2% was more than offset by pressure from local prices and currency headwinds, which it said shaved 3% off the top line. Analysts projected $7.01 billion in sales.

The company boosted the low end of its outlook for per-share earnings this year to a range of $3.15 to $3.20 on an adjusted basis, compared to a prior range of $3.05 to $3.20.

Shares, which have risen 20% in the past three months, were unchanged premarket.

Write to Joshua Jamerson at joshua.jamerson@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 26, 2016 06:54 ET (10:54 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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