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Akzo Nobel NV said Wednesday that its fourth-quarter operating income fell on lower volumes, higher raw material prices and freight costs and inflation on operating expenses, though revenue rose.
The Dutch paints company
AKZA,
which houses the Dulux, Polycell and Cuprinol brands, posted an operating income for the quarter of 103 million euros ($110.5 million) compared with EUR205 million a year earlier.
Adjusted operating income–one of the company’s preferred metrics, which strips out exceptional and other one-off items–was EUR126 million compared with EUR209 million a year earlier and a consensus of EUR117.4 million.
Quarterly revenue rose to EUR2.61 billion from EUR2.40 billion, reflecting pricing rising 11% despite volumes falling 9%. Consensus for revenue was EUR2.55 billion.
All consensus figures have been taken from the company’s website and are based on 18 analysts’ forecasts.
The board has declared a final dividend of EUR1.54, flat on the fourth quarter of 2021.
The company said it aims to to deliver EUR1.2 billion to EUR1.5 billion in adjusted earnings in 2023, and that it plans to focus on margin management, cost reduction, working capital normalization and de-leveraging to offset macroeconomic uncertainties.
Write to Joe Hoppe at joseph.hoppe@wsj.com
