PPG Industries, Inc. (PPG) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, 21 January 2016.
The company said its profit in the final quarter of the year nearly quadrupled thanks to recent acquisitions, rising sales volumes and cost-control efforts.
It reported a profit of $314 million, or $1.16 a share, up from $83 million, or 30 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, per-share earnings from continuing operations rose to $1.23 a share from $1.05, in line with Zacks analysts expectations.
Revenue was down 0.3% to $3.79 billion. Excluding currency fluctuations, revenue grew 7%, with acquisition-related sales adding 5% and sales volume growth contributing nearly 2%.
PPG Industries remains committed to deliver higher organic growth, including continued commercialization of its innovative, industry-leading coatings technologies. For 2016, the company anticipates uneven growth in the Asia Pacific region but strong growth on a full-year basis. PPG Industries also anticipates economic expansion in North America to continue at a modest pace and European economies to improve. PPG Industries will continue with its aggressive cost actions and productivity initiatives.
“Results improved despite the persistent, unfavorable impact of weaker foreign currencies, which were more than offset by benefits from our earnings-accretive cash deployment, improving sales volumes and our unwavering focus on costs,” said Chief Executive Michael McGarry.
“As we enter 2016, we anticipate global economic growth will continue, but at a varied pace and mixed by major economy,” Mr. McGarry said.