Dow AgroSciences Profit Falls

The Dow AgroSciences headquarters are located on the northwest side of Indianapolis.

Indianapolis-based Dow AgroSciences is reporting first quarter profit of $403 million, down from $409 million during the same period last year. The agricultural sciences unit of The Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE: DOW) says first quarter sales were affected by factors including lower crop commodity prices.

The company says crop protection volume was lower in the first quarter due to reduced demand for herbicides. Seed volume also declined due to lower demand for corn and soybeans. 

Dow Chemical is reporting first quarter net income of $169 million, down from $1.4 billion during the same period the previous year. Net sales also decreased 13 percent to $10.7 million

The earnings report comes as Dow Chemical is in the midst of a $130 billion merger with DuPont (NYSE: DD), which will create DowDuPont. In February, it was announced that Indianapolis will be the home of a Global Business Center for DowDuPont’s new agriculture company. 

Dow Chemical Chief Executive Officer Andrew Liveris says the company remains on track with the merger.