Dow Chemical's 2014 earnings report profit does not rise or fall

China Coatings
: In fiscal 2014, Dow Chemical's revenue grew, but profits did not rise or fall. The plastics business accounted for two-thirds of full-year revenue, while the polyurethane business posted record fourth-quarter sales and double-digit growth. Dow Chemical's full-year revenue was $58,167 million, up about 2 percent from $50,780 million in fiscal 2013. Net profit was $3.839 billion, down 20% from $4.816 billion in fiscal 2013; Earnings per share were $2.87, down from $3.68 in fiscal 2013.
fourth-quarter revenue growth was helped by North America and Latin America, while Asia-Pacific was dragged down. Revenue in North America was $5.200 billion, up from $5.108 billion a year earlier; Revenue from Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India was $4.574 billion, down from $4.692 billion a year earlier; Revenue from the Asia-Pacific region was $2.342 billion, down from $2.387 billion a year earlier; Revenue from Latin America was $2.268 billion, up from $2.199 billion a year earlier.
-related business accounts for about two-thirds of its full-year revenue. Sales of its high-performance plastics business, which includes its huge polyethylene business, rose more than 2pc to $22.4bn, with pre-tax profits down about 2pc to $4.4bn. Sales of its high-performance materials and chemicals business, which includes polyurethanes and epoxy resins, rose 2 percent to $15.1 billion. Pre-tax profits surged 10 percent to $2.2 billion. The polyurethane business posted record sales in the fourth quarter, achieving double-digit growth. Dow's 2014 campaign was also chased by activist investor Third Point LLC, which criticised Dow's poor performance and even proposed splitting it into two listed companies. In November, the two sides agreed to add four additional board seats this year.