AkzoNobel reports strong start to the year

Posted on Apr 21, 2011 in Business | 0 comments

Akzo Nobel N.V. (“AkzoNobel”) today reported a 16 percent gain in Q1 revenue compared with the same period in 2010. Group revenue of €3,762 million (Q1 2010: €3,246 million) reflects a 7 percent increase in volumes and a 4 percent positive price effect.

Double-digit revenue growth was achieved in all three Business Areas, driven by the company’s continued strength in high growth markets and demand recovery in mature economies.

Raw material price inflation has been significant. Pricing and cost reduction actions are on-going to mitigate the impact of this and AkzoNobel remains confident that it will be able to compensate for these increases.

During the quarter, EBITDA improved by 10 percent to €437 million, although overall EBITDA margins declined slightly compared with Q1 2010, reflecting the lag effect of pricing and margin management actions to compensate raw material price increases. Sequentially, from Q4 2010, the EBITDA margin increased from 10.4 percent to 11.6 percent as mitigating actions took effect.

The company has a seasonal pattern in that revenue and profitability are lowest in the fourth and first quarters of the year.

The Report for the first quarter of 2011 can be read on www.akzonobel.com/quarterlyresults.

More at The Dutch Daily News

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