Charles Holliday Quotations

Ultimately, it will be higher prices for the consumer.

Business conditions in the first half have been some of the most difficult that we have experienced in recent years,

Given the success of our discussions to date, we expect to be able to conclude one or more of these alliances by the end of this year,

Our thrust is to keep bringing out new products,

Our view of the global economy suggests several more quarters of low volume growth and continued price pressure, ... Lower raw material costs and more favorable currency comparison. combined with results from our productivity focus should all contribute to our ability to weather this cycle more favorably than in the past.

Recent movements in long-leading economic indicators and in raw material prices offer hope that an end to the spreading global downturn is in sight, ... Despite that, we continue to take actions necessary to emerge from these difficult times as a much stronger company.

Most of our businesses performed exceptionally well in spite of higher raw material costs and weak European currencies, with 11 of 18 strategic business units delivering double digit earnings growth,

We will continue to drive for at least 10 to 12 percent annual earnings growth.

We knew it would be a difficult operating environment in the first quarter, and I am very encouraged by the better than expected performance of our company. I am especially pleased with how our people delivered these results. We are fully committed to growing revenue, controlling costs and improving return on assets across all of our businesses.

This transformation plan is designed not only to improve the short-term health of these businesses but also to ensure a future of sustainable, profitable growth.

The pervasive impact of e-commerce dominates the discussion,

We expect the challenges we faced in the second quarter to continue, exacerbated by slowing volumes from the growing effects of the General Motors strike and the Asian financial crisis.

Ed Jefferson exemplified the importance our company places on science. His leadership and insights throughout his career at DuPont helped shape the direction our company is taking today.

These difficult but necessary actions will enable the crop protection business to provide an even stronger base in support of the other parts of our agricultural enterprise.

Our earnings this quarter are unacceptable and I have begun putting in place specific actions to improve second-half performance.

Although the polyester industry and U.S. agriculture markets remain weak, most of our other businesses began to see some volume improvement,

This is very early in this industry, ... It's like that first telephone call -- try to imagine the cell phones (of) today. We don't know exactly how it will play out, but we know the technology is powerful.

Accelerating the growth in life sciences is key to our strategy to becoming a faster-growing, more profitable, less cyclical company,

A company can operate successfully for 200 years only by continually reinventing itself,

It's a great time to reinvest in our company, ... This action is yet another reflection of our commitment to enhance shareholder value.

Taking actions that result in people losing their jobs is the hardest decision we as leaders will ever have to make, ... these actions will enable us to more rapidly achieve our goal of sustainable growth.

Industries important to many of our customers -- electronics, automotive, textiles and chemicals -- have been particularly affected by the economic downturn, ... This has temporarily reduced fundamental demand for our products.

The global economic slowdown that has forced U.S. manufacturing capacity utilization to levels equal to the 1982 recession is now expanding to Europe, South America, and parts of Asia, ... Demand is correspondingly weak across all markets, and our customers have continued to draw down existing inventories or delay purchasing until conditions improve.