DuPont idling facilities, deferring investment amid coronavirus

Global chemical manufacturer DuPont idled production at manufacturing sites and deferred some capital investments as part of its strategy to address global economic strain and uncertainty stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, the company said Monday.

Wilmington, Delaware-based DuPont caters to a variety of end markets including some battered by pandemic-related shutdowns, such as the automotive and oil and natural gas sectors.

"As this pandemic expands globally, the uncertainty around demand in select end-markets continues. In response, we continue to advance initiatives to improve our working capital, and have taken steps to delay certain capital investments and idle production at several manufacturing sites," CEO Ed Breen said in a statement Monday.

DuPont did not specify which sites had been idled.

The company makes products used in vehicle interiors, construction, sports and travel gear, home care, electronics, hospitals and energy production.

DuPont said it had secured $3 billion in financing to weather the pandemic, including a 364-day, $1 billion revolving credit facility to replace a $750 million facility slated to expire in June, and another 364-day $2 billion facility to cover debt maturities coming in November. The company has the option to replace the $2 billion facility via the capital markets.

The automotive sector has cratered during the pandemic as vehicle manufacturers shut plants, including Ford, GM, Fiat-Chrysler and Volkswagen. Record-low oil prices also stemming from sharply lower demand amid widespread pandemic-related stay-at-home orders globally, as well as a Saudi Arabia-Russia price war that ended April 12 with OPEC+ agreements to curtail output, saw NYMEX May WTI futures settle at negative $37.11/b on Monday, a day before the May contract expires, while June WTI settled at $20.30/b, S&P Global Platts data showed. ICE June Brent settled at $25.57/b on Monday.

DuPont said the company has seen strong demand from other sectors, such as personal protection equipment, water filtration, food & beverage, probiotics and electronics markets.

The company is slated to unveil its first quarter of 2020 earnings on May 5.