AkzoNobel Releases Results for 2012 and Announces New Financial Targets
AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands - Akzo Nobel N.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, announced its fourth-quarter and full-year 2012 results. Revenue for the year was up five percent driven by favorable currencies and pricing, while offset by a decline in volumes. EBITDA for the year was four percent higher at EUR 1,901 million (2011: EUR 1,834 million), helped by the company’s performance improvement program, which contributed EUR 276 million to EBITDA. As a consequence of the impairment charge of EUR 2,106 million in the third quarter related to the company’s Decorative Paints division, AkzoNobel recorded a full-year operating loss of EUR 1,244 million. Excluding this impairment charge, operating income was EUR 862 million positive (2011: EUR 1,145 million).
Decorative Paints was impacted by weaker demand in the European markets. Specialty Chemicals delivered a robust performance, despite weaker demand in the second half of the year. Performance Coatings recorded a strong performance, driven by margin management and operational efficiency actions, despite weaker volumes overall.