Akzo Nobel Sees Higher EBIT, Revenues In FY17; Backs 2020 Outlook - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Akzo Nobel NV (AKZOY.PK, AKZOY) Thursday said it expects fiscal 2017 earnings before interest and tax or EBIT, including discontinued operations, to be around 1.525 billion euros, higher than last year's 1.502 billion euros.

EBIT excludes identified items totaling around 130 million euros mainly related to the transformation of AkzoNobel into a focused Paints and Coatings company, including the separation of Specialty Chemicals.

The company said the internal separation of the Specialty Chemicals business is complete. A full separation of Specialty Chemicals, either via a private sale or a legal demerger, remains on track for April 2018. As a result, the Specialty Chemicals business will be reported as discontinued operations.

Revenue, including discontinued operations, for full-year 2017 is expected to be up 3% or up 4% excluding currency impact, at around 14.575 billion euros, compared to 14.197 billion euros last year.

Positive developments continued for Decorative Paints, particularly in Asia, while challenging conditions in the marine and oil and gas industries impacted Performance Coatings

Specialty Chemicals delivered a strong performance throughout 2017, including during the fourth quarter.

Further, the company said the transformation of AkzoNobel into a focused Paints and Coatings company, including the separation of Specialty Chemicals, is progressing well and the associated one-off costs are within expectations.

AkzoNobel also confirmed financial guidance for 2020.

AkzoNobel will publish a report for the full-year and the fourth quarter 2017 on March 8.