PPG has reported net sales of US$ 4.31 billion in the first quarter of 2024 compared to US$ 4.38 billion during the corresponding period of last year, reflecting a decline of 2 per cent. However, net income ding the quarter rose by 52% at US$ 400 million compared to US$ 264 million in Q1 2023. Adjusted net income is US$ 441 million compared to US$ 432 million, reflecting growth of 2 per cent.

Commenting on the result, Tim Knavish, Chairman and CEO, PPG, said: “We achieved year-over-year adjusted EPS growth for the fifth consecutive quarter despite continued challenges in the macro environment. The company benefited from our well-established businesses in Mexico and China, our second and third largest net sales countries, respectively.

“We also delivered organic sales growth in India and in several long-cycle businesses such as protective and marine coatings and aerospace coatings, where our backlog grew. These gains were mitigated by a large customer load-in and pass-through energy surcharges in Europe that occurred in the prior-year period, lowering year-over-year sales comparisons by approximately 130 basis points. During this year’s first quarter, we were also impacted by lower demand in Europe, including an early Easter holiday which reduced the number of selling days in March, and ongoing tepid global demand for industrial coatings.

“We continue to make progress on returning to our historic segment margin profile with an aggregate segment margin improvement of 60 basis points, marking the sixth consecutive quarter of year-over-year improvement. 2024 is expected to be another year of excellent cash flow, and our balance sheet remains strong, including lower inventories year over year, providing us with ongoing shareholder value creation opportunities. We completed approximately $150 million of share repurchases in the first quarter.

“Looking ahead, while global industrial production remains at low absolute levels, we believe that demand in China for our products will deliver solid organic growth. In Europe, demand is expected to stabilize as we progress through 2024, despite unevenness by country. In the U.S., economic conditions have remained subdued in several end-use markets, but we expect overall improvement as the year progresses. In Mexico, we forecast strong momentum to continue.

“We are executing on the strategic reviews of the architectural coatings U.S. and Canada business and global silicas products business that we announced in the first quarter. Our target is to determine a path forward for each of these assessments no later than the third quarter.

PPG remains focused on various enterprise growth initiatives to drive higher sales volumes and fully capitalize on our technical and service capabilities. In the second quarter, we expect low single-digit percentage aggregate sales volume growth, led by our aerospace, protective and marine, and packaging coatings businesses and by Mexico, China and India.”