At an investor conference yesterday in New York, Diane Gulyas, group vice president ─ DuPont Performance Materials, outlined the segment’s key growth drivers for 2008 and beyond.  With more than USD 6 billion in annual sales, DuPont Performance Materials is delivering customer-driven product innovation and value-added applications development for the global packaging, transportation, electrical and construction markets.

“We have created significant value for shareholders over the past three years despite the rapid rise in the price of oil and the cost of derivative products we buy as ingredients,” Diane said.  “We’ve accomplished this with successful new applications development while paying close attention to our prices and capturing cost productivity gains.  And we have tremendous opportunities to extend our growth in end-use markets, especially in the rapidly growing emerging geographic markets.” 

Diane highlighted several new product innovations, plans for expansion in emerging markets, and participation in high growth, end-use markets such as photovoltaics for solar cells, advanced metals replacement, and renewably sourced polymers.  She said that a critical element of the segment’s plan is to extend cost productivity initiatives to enhance profitability and counter further increases in ingredient costs. 

“These growth drivers and disciplined execution of our strategies should enable us to deliver 4‑5 percent top-line growth and double-digit bottom-line growth annually over the next three years,” Diane said.

Performance Materials segment growth will be an essential element of DuPont’s three‑year acceleration plan that aims to nearly double the rate of growth in pre-tax operating income.

Yesterday’s presentation can be found in the Investor Center on the company’s website at www.dupont.com.