Akzo Nobel NV said Wednesday that fourth-quarter earnings fell compared with the same time in the prior year, but expects raw-material costs in the first half of 2020 to have a positive effect.
Net income for the Dutch paints company AKZA, -0.61% in the quarter ended Dec. 31 was 81 million euros ($ 88.4 million) compared with EUR5.85 billion in the previous year’s quarter, which included the sale its specialty-chemicals business.
Adjusted operating income–the company’s preferred metric which excludes exceptional costs–was EUR223 million, compared with EUR181 million. The company said it benefited from margin management and cost-savings programs.
Quarterly revenue fell to EUR2.24 billion, down from EUR2.31 billion.
The board declared a final dividend of EUR1.49 per share, up from last year’s EUR1.43.
The company, which houses the Dulux, Polycell and Cuprinol brands, said that raw-material costs are expected to have a slightly favorable impact for the first half of 2020. It said that it also expects to continue margin management and cost-savings programs to address current challenges, and that it continues with its transformation, incurring one-off costs, to deliver the previously announced EUR200 million in cost savings.
