AkzoNobel: earnings beat pushes shares up
(CercleFinance.com) - Slightly better-than-expected quarterly results at AkzoNobel boosted the shares of the Dutch paints and chemicals group on Euronext Amsterdam this Wednesday.
The company reported fourth-quarter adjusted operating income of 181 million euros, from 178 million euros a year ago, driven by pricing initiatives and cost-savings programs.
At 2.3 billion euros, revenue rose by 1%, up 4% in constant currencies.
"Better than expected price/mix more than offsets weak volumes," UBS analysts said.
The broker also noted that management pointed to further cash returns to shareholders.
Indeed, the company said it aims for leverage of between one and two times net debt/EBITDA by the end of 2020.
By 11:30, Akzo shares were up 8.39%, outperforming the STOXX Europe 600 Optimised Chemicals index of European chemical companies, which is up about 1%.
Copyright (c) 2019 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.
The company reported fourth-quarter adjusted operating income of 181 million euros, from 178 million euros a year ago, driven by pricing initiatives and cost-savings programs.
At 2.3 billion euros, revenue rose by 1%, up 4% in constant currencies.
"Better than expected price/mix more than offsets weak volumes," UBS analysts said.
The broker also noted that management pointed to further cash returns to shareholders.
Indeed, the company said it aims for leverage of between one and two times net debt/EBITDA by the end of 2020.
By 11:30, Akzo shares were up 8.39%, outperforming the STOXX Europe 600 Optimised Chemicals index of European chemical companies, which is up about 1%.
Copyright (c) 2019 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.