Paint and coatings manufacturer AkzoNobel, the parent of Awl-Grip, Interlux and Sea Hawk, reported an increase of 2% in organic sales in the first quarter, with revenues down 1%.
Operating income of $279.3 million was up from $194.8 million in 2023. Adjusted EBITDA was $388.4 million, compared with $326.4 million in the year-prior, and adjusted EBITDA margin was 13.8%.
“Our performance for the first quarter combined volume growth in both paints and coatings with margin expansion, as it did in the previous quarter,” CEO Greg Poux-Guillaume said in a statement. “After growing volumes 2% in Q1, we’re preparing for further growth in areas where we see market opportunities, such as in powder, where we’re adding new production lines. Our momentum and the progress of our efficiency measures bode well for a strong 2024 performance in markets which remain mixed.”
The company is forecasting adjusted EBITDA of $1.6 billion to $1.77 billion for the year, while reducing its leverage to around 2.3 times net debt/EBITDA by the end of the year.
The AkzoNobel production plant in Bac Ninh Province, Vietnam, added five powder-coating lines, plus a line for producing water-based products for the consumer electronics market.
The company’s plants in Latin America are operating on 100% renewable electricity, boosting an initiative to reduce carbon emissions across the full value chain by 50% by 2030.
AkzoNobel also opened a $27.8 million manufacturing facility in Faisalabad, Pakistan.
Click here for the complete first-quarter report.
