The US chemical company Dow Chemical Co (NYSE: DOW) reported that its quarterly adjusted profit beat forecasts due to the focus on the consumer markets, such as agriculture and automotive, as well as the complete control of the silicon manufacturer Dow Corning.
Sales of Dow Chemical, except for a deal for getting the control over Dow Corning, rose 2.5% to $ 11.75 billion in the fourth quarter ended 31 December.
Dow Corning had previously been a joint venture between Dow and the manufacturer of specialized glass Corning Inc (NYSE: GLW).
The positive impact on the results of the Dow, which is in the process of merging with DuPont (NYSE: DD), continues to support a concentration of the company in the consumer markets and the sale of volatile commodity assets.
In the fourth quarter, net loss attributable to shareholders of the Dow was $ 33 million, or 3 cents per share, compared with a profit of $ 3.53 billion, or $ 2.94 per share, a year earlier.
Operating profit excluding non-recurring write-offs of $ 1.1 billion increased by 6.5% to 99 cents per share. Analysts polled by Reuters on average expected this figure on the level of 88 cents per share.
Net sales excluding the deal with Dow Corning rose to $ 13.02 billion from $ 11.46 billion, exceeding analysts' average forecast of $ 12.38 billion.
As for the US stock market as a whole, it closed Thursday session in different directions due to the strengthening of the consumer services, telecommunications and finance sectors, and negative dynamics on the part of consumer goods, health care and industry sectors.
At the close on the New York Stock Exchange, Dow Jones rose 0.17%, reaching a historic high, S&P 500 index fell 0.06%, and NASDAQ Composite Index fell 0.01%.