Akzo Nobel Reports 11% Rise in Q2 Net Profit

Akzo Nobel, the Dutch paints company known for its popular brands Dulux, Polycell, and Cuprinol, announced on Tuesday that it experienced an 11% increase in net profit for the second quarter. However, the company fell short of market forecasts. Despite this, Akzo Nobel raised its full-year guidance based on the current market conditions.

For Q2, the company reported a net income of €118 million ($130.6 million), surpassing last year's figure of €106 million for the same quarter. However, the consensus estimate taken from the company's website stood at €194 million. The adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), which is one of Akzo Nobel's preferred metrics, showed a positive growth as well. It amounted to €397 million compared to €337 million from the previous year. The consensus estimate for this metric was €403 million.

Despite a decline in revenue to €2.74 billion from €2.85 billion due to unfavorable exchange rates, Akzo Nobel saw a 3% increase in revenue on a constant-currency basis. The consensus estimate for revenue was €2.86 billion.

Looking ahead, Akzo Nobel revised its adjusted EBITDA forecast for the full year. It now expects the metric to fall within the range of €1.40 billion to €1.55 billion, up from the previous guidance of €1.2 billion to €1.5 billion.

In light of ongoing macro-economic uncertainties that are expected to impact organic volume growth, Akzo Nobel plans to focus on margin management, cost reduction, working capital normalization, and de-leveraging.