DuPont Co. (DD) cuts its 2009 earnings guidance Tuesday amid slowing global chemical demand, but expects to retain pricing power despite falling input costs.

The U.S. company said the market conditions in the final quarter of 2008 are likely to continue in the first three months of the year.

"The order pattern is episodic in most of our industrial markets," said chief executive Ellen Kullman on a conference call after reporting a $629 million loss for the fourth quarter.

Kullman and fellow executives pointed to customer destocking and broad end-market uncertainty, though they forecast more clarity on demand from Asia by mid-February, after the lunar year holidays.

With demand for its paints weighed by continued weakness in the global auto sector and the U.S. housing market, only DuPont's agribusiness segment is expected to see a rise in sales this year.

DuPont shares were down 2.7% at $22.55 in early trade. The stock has lost half its value since September.

Kullman also took a swipe at rival Monsanto Co. (MON), without naming names, which had alleged deep discounting by rivals in the U.S. corn seed market.

"Hell, no," said Kullman when asked if the company had been offering steep discounts amid a fierce battle for market share with Monsanto.

"We will continue our pricing discipline in 2009," said chief financial officer Jeff Keefer on the call.

He forecast that raw material costs will remain "high" in the first quarter as it works through higher-priced inventory, but would moderate through the rest of the year.

Raw material, energy and transportation costs are forecast to fall between 4% and 6% this year, excluding currency and volume effects.

Keefer said agriculture was the only area of strength, with first-quarter orders particularly hit by a 40% decline in auto production and a 30% drop in U.S. housing starts.

The slide in global chemical demand has already derailed one larger industry merger and threatens to topple a second, but DuPont said asset prices were moderating. Keefer said the company would be "cautious about jumping too early" on any opportunities.

The company has embarked on a broad cost-cutting effort that is expected to save $730 million and increase earnings by $130 million this year.

During 2008, the company achieved $425 million in fixed cost reductions, surpassing its goal of $400 million, with each business taking additional actions to reduce costs in the fourth quarter.

DuPont cut its 2009 forecasted earnings range by 25 cents to $2 to $2.50 a share. For 2009, DuPont expects about $1 billion in reduced working capital.

The company reported a net loss of $629 million, or 70 cents a share, compared with year earlier net income of $545 million, or 60 cents a share, a year earlier.

Excluding a per-share restructuring charge of 42 cents in the latest quarter, DuPont had a loss of 28 cents a share, in line with DuPont's December outlook for a loss of 20 cents to 30 cents a share.

Net sales fell 17% to $5.82 billion, in line with the company's December forecast for a sales decline of at least 15% amid slumping volumes.

DuPont saw sales dip 2% to $1.2 billion in its agriculture business, where increased pricing and seed market share gains in Latin America were offset by volume declines in crop protection and ingredient products.

Sales declined in its industrial businesses, led by a 30% sales drop in its performance materials unit.

-By Doug Cameron, Dow Jones Newswires; 312-750-4135; doug.cameron@dowjones.com

   (Shirleen Dorman contributed to this article)

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