AkzoNobel has announced preliminary, unaudited, financial results for full-year 2017.
The internal separation of the Specialty Chemicals business is now complete. The company says a full separation of Specialty Chemicals, either via a private sale or a legal demerger, remains on track for April 2018. As a result, the Specialty Chemicals business will be reported as discontinued operations.
Revenue, including discontinued operations, for full year 2017 is expected to be up 3 percent (up 4 percent excluding currency impact) at around €14,575 million (approximately $17.9 billion USD), compared to €14,197 million (approximately $17.4 billion USD) in 2016.
EBIT, including discontinued operations, for full year 2017 expected to be around €1,525 million (approximately $1.9 million USD), compared to €1,502 million (approximately $1.8 billion USD) in 2016. EBIT excludes identified items totaling around €130 million ($159 billion USD) mainly related to the transformation of AkzoNobel into a focused Paints and Coatings company, including the separation of Specialty Chemicals
The company said positive developments continued for Decorative Paints, particularly in Asia, while challenging conditions in the marine and oil and gas industries impacted Performance Coatings. Some industry-specific headwinds persisted, including higher raw material costs, and adverse effects from foreign currency increased further. Continuous improvement and cost discipline contributed positively to achieving the results.
Specialty Chemicals delivered a strong performance throughout 2017, including during the fourth quarter. As previously announced, AkzoNobel will publish a report for the full-year and the fourth quarter 2017 on Thursday, March 8. This is later than previous years due to the financial reporting process relating to the separation of Specialty Chemicals.
