Hempel grew its revenue to EUR 1,542 million in 2020 and demonstrated strong organic growth of 3.2 per cent, despite a declining global coatings market, building on momentum from 2019. The company continued its transformation to become a stronger global company ready to accelerate growth and double the business by 2025.

The company’s strong top line growth in 2020 was primarily driven by strong demand in decorative and marine segments, despite a declining global coatings market.

In the year of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the company’s EBITDA margin was satisfactory at 10.1 per cent excluding restructuring costs related to exiting certain countries (9.8 per cent in reported numbers).

“I am very satisfied with our achievements last year as we managed to deliver a strong performance during unprecedented times. We have now seen organic growth for six quarters in a row and been able to reduce our debt further. This puts us in a strong position for the coming years,” says Lars Petersson, Group President & CEO, Hempel.

 “I would like to personally thank all my colleagues for a truly outstanding performance under very difficult circumstances. You have kept our customers unharmed throughout the pandemic while maintaining health and safety as our number one priority. For this I am truly grateful.”

Launching its new Double Impact strategy in January, Hempel is positioned for leadership positions in selected geographies and sub-segments within Decorative, Marine, Infrastructure and Energy.

“2020 was a very successful year, and also a year of transition for Hempel. We have spent time preparing our new Double Impact strategy with a re-focus of our business into four key segments to reach our ambitious target of doubling our revenue to EUR 3 billion by 2025,” Petersson said.

“With the agreement to purchase Wattyl (subject to approval), we have already taken the first step in this direction, and the acquisition will have a major, positive impact on our footprint in South & East Asia and underlines our growth ambitions for our decorative and protective segments.”

“We are going for leadership positions in selected segments and geographies - all while making sustainability the foundation of our business. Doubling our revenue will allow us to double our positive impact by investing in more sustainable coating solutions, innovation and digitalisation for the benefit of our customers and the world around us.”

As part of the new strategy, Hempel presented its new sustainability framework in February 2021 with an ambition to radically advance its environmental and social performance for the benefit of the company, its customers and its employees.