Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on January 29, 2025
By Dimitri Rhodes and Anna Peverieri
(Reuters) -Dulux paints maker AkzoNobel forecast a slightly smaller-than-expected rise in 2025 core earnings on Wednesday, and said it does not see a significant market rebound this year.
The Dutch maker of paints and coatings sees its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to surpass 1.55 billion euros ($1.62 billion) for 2025, missing the 1.58 billion euros estimated by analysts in a company-compiled consensus.
The group, which sells decorative paints to consumers and professionals and specialised coatings used by many industries, said its yearly operating income dropped 40% to 127 million euros, mainly impacted by restructuring costs.
"The self- help measures we are taking will increasingly contribute to the bottom line," CEO Greg Poux-Guillaume said in a release.
The paint maker had previously announced plant closures in Ireland, the Netherlands and Zambia, as well as plans to cut about 2,000 jobs, more than 5% of its workforce, globally by the end of 2025.
In January, the Amsterdam-listed company said it planned to lay off up to 211 staff in France, about 16% of its workforce in the country, as part of a reorganisation that would also include creation of 29 new positions.
AkzoNobel's net profit rose 3% to 321 million euros for the fourth-quarter ended Dec. 31, 2024, slightly missing analysts' average estimate of 323 million euros.
($1 = 0.9579 euros)
(Reporting by Dimitri Rhodes and Anna Peverieri; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
