Du Pont Profits Decline 10% in Third Quarter

Du Pont Co. reported a $282-million third-quarter profit, down 10% from the same period last year.

Revenue totaled $8.5 billion, a 2% drop from $8.7 billion in the third quarter of 1984.

Profit for the first nine months of 1985 was $614 million, down 45% from $1.1 billion in the first nine months of 1984.

Revenue for the first nine months was $25.3 billion, a 6% drop from $27.1 billion for the same period last year.

The company said third-quarter profits were reduced by $88 million because of the closure of an ethylene production unit at the company’s Chocolate Bayou plant in Alvin, Tex., the planned withdrawal of its investment from Syngas Co. and the shutdown of an associated methanol plant in Deer Park, Tex.

“Excluding the effect of abnormals in both years, third-quarter operating results were essentially unchanged from 1984,” Du Pont Chairman Edward G. Jefferson said.

“We have seen a significant improvement in our downstream petroleum business, which has benefited from better refined product margins worldwide,” he said.