Solar materials demand boosts DuPont segment results

For more than a hundred years, DuPont has been a titan in the U.S materials industry, developing everything from polymers to refrigerants to synthetic pigments. However, it also has a major presence in the global solar industry, through the supply of a diverse set of materials including backsheets, encapsulants, metalization pastes, silicon inks and more.

Rising demand for these materials is helping to grow the company’s Electronics and Communications division, as reported in DuPont’s Q2 results last week. Sales in the division, which also makes materials for the consumer electronics and semiconductor markets, grew 11% to $546 million during the second quarter of 2017.

This is only a fraction of the company’s $7.4 billion in revenues, however as the global PV market is expanding the segment’s sales are growing with it. Profitability in the Electronics and Communications division also increased 25% year-over-year, to $116 million, representing nearly 10% of company’s profit from operations.

DuPont stated on its quarterly results call that it expects “continued moderate strength” in PV materials sales.