NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) July 27, 2005--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that its ratings on E.I. DuPont de Nemours&Co. (AA-/Negative/A-1+) remain unchanged following DuPont's announcement of second-quarter earnings that were ahead of last year's second quarter but below analysts' consensus estimates. Management expects price increases, new product introductions, growth in emerging markets, and productivity gains will more than offset a much greater-than-expected $1 billion increase in energy and raw-material costs in 2005. However, overall second-quarter sales volumes were flat, with strong growth in Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe offsetting lower volumes in the U.S. and Western Europe. The company also reported a decrease in corn seed volume (due to weather conditions in Europe and
