NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) April 14, 2004--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that E.I. DuPont de Nemours&Co.'s (AA-/Negative/A-1+) announcement that its first-quarter 2004 earnings will be higher than initial expectations does not affect its ratings or negative outlook on the company. DuPont expects earnings to be about 95 cents per share, excluding certain special items, compared with a previous guidance of 65 cents to 75 cents. The improvement derives from higher-than-expected volumes in most businesses and strong results in the agriculture and nutrition segment. The upbeat earnings outlook revision helps to offset recent news that the company will take a charge of 17 cents to 19 cents in the second quarter related to a cost improvement
