AkzoNobel swings to Q1 net income of €81m

23 April 2010 09:07  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--AkzoNobel announced a net income of €81m ($108m) for the first quarter of 2010, reversing the net loss of €7m recorded in the same a period last year, as demand improved across all sectors, the Dutch coatings, paints and specialty chemical company said on Thursday.

Revenue for the first quarter of 2010 increased by 5.9% year on year to €3.25bn, the group experiencing new volumes of business as the market recovered from the global economic downturn.

On a sector basis, AkzoNobel’s Speciality Chemicals saw its revenue rise by 6% to €1.15bn, while earnings before interests, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the segment increased by 37% to €207m, as the group recorded broad demand improvement in both mature and high-growth markets.

Additionally, revenue rose 7% in the company’s Decorative Paints division and 6% in its Performance Coatings division.

“We’ve had a good start to 2010, particularly in higher-growth markets, where our performance was strong,” said CEO Hans Wijers.

“While revenue growth across all of AkzoNobel’s businesses has been solid, our Q1 performance compares with a particularly weak first quarter in 2009,” he added.

Looking ahead, AkzoNobel said there was reason for "cautious optimism" and that it remained on track to achieve its medium-term target of an EBITDA margin of 14% by the end of 2011.

“We expect pressure from further raw material cost increases during the year and remain cautious about the strength of the recovery. AkzoNobel will continue to focus on customers, cost reduction and cash generation, but we will also prioritise investments and initiatives to ensure that the company is able to capture growth,” said Wijers.

($1 = €0.75)

Additional reporting by Nurluqman Suratman
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