DuPont de Nemours, Inc.

Please stand by as we're about to begin. Good day and welcome to the Dow DuPont first quarter earnings call. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Lori Koch. Please go ahead, ma'am.

Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us for Dow DuPont's first quarter 2019 earnings conference call. We are making this call available to investors and media via webcast. We have prepared slides to supplement our comments during this conference call. These slides are posted on the investor relations section of Dow DuPont's website and through the link to our webcast. Speaking on the call today are Ed Green, Chief Executive Officer, Jim Collins and Mark Doyle, Chief Operating Officers for Dow DuPont's Agriculture and Specialty Products Division, and myself and Megan Britt, who will lead IR for DuPont and Corteva. In addition, Jean Desmond and Greg Friedman, CFO-elects for DuPont and Corteva, will join in the Q&A session. Please read the forward-looking statement disclaimer contained in the news release end slide. During our call, we will make forward-looking statements regarding our expectations or predictions about the future. Because these statements are based on current assumptions and factors that involve risk and uncertainty, our actual performance and results may differ materially from our forward-looking statements. Our Form 10-K and DuPont's Form 10-K, as well as Corteva's Form 10, include detailed discussion of principal risks and uncertainties which may cause such differences. Also, we will comment on segment results on a divisional basis, so please take note of the divisional disclaimer in our earnings release and slides. Unless otherwise specified, all historical financial measures presented today exclude significant items. We will also refer to non-GAAP measures. A reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure and other associated disclosures are contained in our earnings release and on our website. Before I turn it over to Ed, I'd like to remind you that our comments will be primarily related to the future DuPont and Corteva companies. Dow will be holding their own call starting at 9 a.m. this morning. I will now turn the call over to Ed.

Thanks, Lori, and good morning, everyone. Today we reported the final quarter results for Dow DuPont. Our teams aggressively managed the levers within their control to deliver results in line with our revised expectations. They addressed challenges including unprecedented bad weather, markets. This demonstrates the ability of each of our businesses to respond effectively to challenges due to their market alignment, rigorous cost control, and emphasis on innovative products that enable disciplined pricing and margin expansion. Our teams also stay focused on our longer-term goals and accomplish several important milestones in the quarter. We completed the first phase of our commitment to create three transformative companies, each leaders in the markets they serve. As you know, we spun the Dow business on April 1st, and they are off to a great start. And we're in the final phases of the separation of DuPont and Corteva. We have finalized all the board seats for both Dow and DuPont and have one remaining spot to fill for Corteva. Their respective boards provide them with a strong and diverse set of members that will ensure a continued dedication to driving high returns. Over the next few weeks, we intend to complete the final milestones leading up to the June 1 separation, including filing the final Form 10 for Creteva and holding a shareholder meeting to approve a reverse split of Dow DuPont shares. Additionally, we completed the $3 billion share buyback program, bringing total share buyback under Dow DuPont to $7 billion. I am truly amazed when I think back on what has been accomplished and the organizations. Each one has demonstrated a shareholder value mindset. I couldn't be more excited about the future of these three companies, and I look forward to their ability to continue to deliver against their commitments and drive shareholder returns. Moving to slide three, I'll now touch on the first quarter results and my view of the macro environment before turning it over to Mark to discuss the results for new DuPont. For total Dow DuPont, we delivered revenue of $19.6 billion, down 9% versus prior year, an adjusted EPS of $0.84, a year-over-year decline of 25%, driven primarily by margin pressure in the Dow business, weather-related impacts in Corteva, and the effects of slowing auto and smartphone markets in DuPont, which more than offset the benefits of cost synergies and pricing strain in DuPont and Corteva. We continue to have confidence that the global economy will grow in 2019, albeit at a slower pace than 2018. Regionally, we continue to keep an eye on all markets, but are keeping closer watch on China and Europe. China has started to stimulate, which should help increase their consumer spending and spur the recovery expected in the second half, in addition to an expected tariff resolution. We are also encouraged by the increase in consumer lending. Additionally, the large export market from Europe into China, any green shoot should induce favorable economic activity in Europe. In agriculture, we expect to overcome the weather-related effects of reduced planted acres, acreage shift, and continued delays in the start of the planting season for our focus on higher sales of new and high-value products, accelerated cost synergy delivery, and continuous productivity efforts. Each new company will be benchmarking against best-in-class peers. After working closely with these teams over the past three years, I am confident you can expect them to manage aggressively to deliver against those targets. With that, I'll now turn it over to Mark.