CEO Cites Performance, Expanding Franchises, Creative Go to Market and Technology Expansion in Presentation to Investors
INDIANAPOLIS, Feb. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Dow AgroSciences' track record of delivering beyond expectations was the focus of a recent presentation to investors made by Jerome Peribere, president and CEO of Dow AgroSciences. Dow AgroSciences is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW). Peribere spoke to investors today at the Goldman Sachs Thirteenth Annual Agricultural Biotech Forum in New York City. At the conference, Peribere reinforced the company's track record of delivering excellent performance in key areas and continued plans for growth.
"While 2008 was our best year ever, more importantly this success illustrates our trend of growth from internal efforts, bolt-on acquisitions, and technology success," said Peribere. "We continue to deliver beyond expectations as we provide our customers with innovative solutions."
The company's financial results are impressive, with 20 percent sales growth in 2008 compared to 2007, and 36 percent improvement in EBIT(1) excluding certain items(2), with a 25 percent EBIT CAGR since 2001 excluding certain items(3) being achieved while the company continued adding investment to research and development efforts.
Exceeding customer expectations is a key part of the company's success. New herbicides pyroxsulam and aminopyralid are rapidly being adopted by customers around the world as these products enhance the company's portfolio in key agricultural segments of cereals and range/pasture, respectively.
Dow AgroSciences continues making progress in enhancing its seeds business, with nine acquisitions made since 2007. Peribere cited examples from the Americas which show the company is strengthening its corn, cotton, sunflower, and canola product portfolio.
As a technology-driven company, Dow AgroSciences continues to rapidly advance game-changing biotechnology solutions such as SmartStax(TM), the industry's first eight-gene stack of traits in corn. He reported robust trait introgression work is underway to accelerate launch and ramp-up plans. The Dual Effective Dose provided by SmartStax will drive value in improving yield opportunities.
The Dow Herbicide Tolerance (DHT) family of traits is also advancing quickly in the company's pipeline. This technology will allow growers to use an additional herbicide over the top of key crops such as corn and soybeans, thus providing a more complete solution for growers as they look to enhance the performance of glyphosate.
The final example of delivering beyond expectations focused on the company's EXZACT(TM) Precision Technology. EXZACT Technology, which utilizes zinc finger proteins, provides the ability to do gene targeting, a long-standing but elusive goal of the biotechnology industry. The company is rapidly deploying and enhancing the technology in its research efforts and in collaboration with other industry partners.
Presentation slides are available on The Dow Chemical Company's Investor Presentations web site.
About Dow AgroSciences
Dow AgroSciences LLC, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, is a top-tier agricultural company that combines the power of science and technology with the "Human Element" to constantly improve what is essential to human progress. Dow AgroSciences provides innovative technologies for crop protection, pest and vegetation management, seeds, traits, and agricultural biotechnology to serve the world's growing population. Global sales for Dow AgroSciences, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, are $4.5 billion. Learn more at www.dowagro.com.
(1) EBIT is defined as earnings before interest, income taxes and
minority interests.
(2) Certain items in 2008 included: charges totaling $44 million for
purchased in-process research and development ("IPR&D") related to
recent acquisitions, restructuring charges of $3 million, and costs
of $2 million related to Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, which hit the
U.S. Gulf Coast in the third quarter. Certain items in 2007 included:
restructuring charges totaling $77 million primarily related to the
impairment of the company's manufacturing site in Lauterbourg,
France, and IPR&D of $50 million related to acquisitions.
(3) Certain items in 2001 included a $69 million charge for IPR&D
associated with the acquisition of Rohm and Haas' agricultural
chemicals business.
EXZACT(TM) Precision Technology is a trademark of Dow AgroSciences LLC
SmartStax(TM) and the SmartStax Logo are trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC.
