PITTSBURGH -- PPG Industries has reported sales for the first quarter 2011 of $3.5 billion, an increase of 13 percent versus the prior year’s first quarter. The company posted double-digit percentage sales increases in each major region, and all reporting segments achieved higher sales volumes and pricing. Reported net income for the quarter increased to $228 million, or $1.40 per diluted share. First quarter 2010 sales were $3.1 billion, and reported net income was $30 million, or 18 cents per diluted share.
 
First quarter 2010 adjusted net income was $115 million, or 69 cents per diluted share. First quarter 2010 net income included an aftertax charge of $85 million, or 51 cents per diluted share, as a result of a change in U.S. tax law that was part of the U.S. Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act enacted in March 2010.

“We’ve continued our strong earnings momentum and have posted our third consecutive quarterly record,” said Charles Bunch, PPG chairman and CEO. “Each of our reporting segments delivered higher year-over-year earnings driven by continued volume growth from a broadening global industrial recovery, including strengthening conditions in Europe.

“Our coatings segments have continued to deliver strong results. In addition to demand improvements, higher pricing in each of our coatings businesses and continued aggressive cost management have buffered the impact of persistent raw material cost increases,” he said.

Operating margins in the Performance Coatings, Industrial Coatings and Architectural Coatings – Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) segments matched those of the previous year, and total coatings segment earnings grew by nearly 12 percent versus the prior year results, he added.

Bunch stated that construction activity remained low in developed regions and that there were no signs of imminent improvement. Despite this market weakness, the company achieved modest year-over-year volume gains in these markets. Bunch also said that volume growth contributed to record results in the Optical and Specialty Materials segment, and that the company’s Commodity Chemicals and Glass segments benefited from higher pricing resulting in substantially higher earnings versus the recession-impacted first quarter of last year.

“We have continued to deploy our cash for earnings accretion,” he added. While PPG’s recent acquisition activity has been minimal, Bunch said, the company repurchased about $275 million of stock in the quarter, bringing its total repurchases over the past nine months to about $700 million at an average price of about $81 per share.

“Looking ahead,” Bunch concluded, “we remain optimistic and expect similar economic trends in the second quarter, which is seasonally our strongest sales quarter of the year. We anticipate further pricing gains in every segment as we continue to confront raw material cost inflation. Finally, we continue to work on initiatives to deploy our cash to grow earnings. We will continue to apply our disciplined approach toward evaluating acquisitions, and we expect to announce several small- to medium-sized bolt-on acquisitions over the next six to nine months.”