New York, January 24 (FinanceEnquiry.com) - Although the fourth quarter was unusually slow, DuPont posted profits that beat expectations mainly on the basis of robust agricultural sales and higher prices, despite a slump in demand for electronics and solar parts.

The company said that sales went up in every region as a result of higher prices, though the volumes went down by 10 percent as customers chose to decrease their inventories rather than stocking up. Traditionally, the chemical industry faces slower sales during the fourth quarter.

On Tuesday, the CEO of the company maintained the 2012 earnings target of $4.20 to $4.40 per share, against Wall Street’s expectations of $4.26. DuPont reported net income of $373 million, or 40 cents per share for the fourth quarter, against $376 million, or 40 cents per share, a year earlier.

The company earned 35 cents per share excluding a $100 million charge for settling claims that one of its herbicides was killing some customers’ trees and other one-time items. Analysts expected earnings of 33 cents per share by that measure.

Against analysts’ expectations of $8.53 billion, sales went up by 14 percent to $8.43 billion. Agricultural sales went up 8 percent to $1.3 billion, helped by sales of pesticides and genetically modified seeds to farmers, ahead of the North American spring planting season.