PPG Industries Inc. said late Thursday that it expects the U.S. economy to remain “subdued” in the first half of the year but expects stronger demand for its products in China and Mexico.
PPG PPG, +1.31%,
a maker of paints and coatings for the automotive and other industries as well as for the domestic market, said that overall global industrial production “remains at a low absolute level.”
The company expects its business in China to continue to improve and economic activity in Europe to “stabilize at current levels in 2024.”
In Mexico, PPG's second-largest country in terms of total net sales, the company expects “continued strong momentum.”
In the U.S. and Canada, sales of architectural coatings were lower as growth in sales to contractors was “more than offset by continued weakness in do-it-yourself demand,” PPG said.
The company reported fourth-quarter results that beat analysts' expectations, but shares fell 1% in the extended session as its first-quarter outlook came in lower than forecast.
According to FactSet, PPG posted fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.53 per share on revenue of $4.4 billion, up 4% from a year earlier, compared with analysts' consensus estimate of an adjusted profit of $1.49 per share on revenue of $4.3 billion.
The company expected first-quarter adjusted earnings to be between $1.80 and $1.87 per share and fiscal 2024 adjusted earnings per share to be between $8.34 and $8.59.
The FactSet consensus calls for adjusted earnings per share of $1.98 for the first quarter and $8.47 for the year.
Shares of PPG have gained 13% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 index SPX has gained about 21% over the same period.
Comments are closed.