Damage from Gulf Coast hurricanes cut E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.’s third-quarter profits by $227 million, or 16 cents per share, and caused it to lower its fourth-quarter and full-year guidances.

Net income was $367 million, or 40 cents per share, compared with $526 million, or 56 cents per share, a year ago. Excluding a hurricane charge and a prior-year litigation charge, net income would have been $513 million.

Net sales rose 9 percent, led by 22 percent growth in its agriculture and nutrition segment, which includes Johnston-based Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. Higher selling prices and a weaker dollar also helped boost sales to $7.3 billion, which offset a 16 percent increase in raw material, energy and freight costs. Sales abroad, especially in Canada and Latin America, offset a 2 percent decrease in sales in the United States.

“Our businesses performed well in the third quarter despite hurricanes and slower economies around the world, reflecting the strong position of our science-based products in production agriculture, photovoltaic and emerging markets,” DuPont Chairman and CEO Charles Holliday Jr. said in a release.

Because hurricanes caused significant damage at the company’s Orange, Texas, plant, DuPont expects hurricane-related business interruptions to have an impact of 10 cents per share on its 2008 earnings. It expects fourth-quarter earnings of 20 to 25 cents per share and full-year 2008 earnings of $3.25 to $3.30 per share, down from the $3.45 to $3.55 per share it previously forecast.