AkzoNobel delivers 15 by 20 promise and continues strong momentum in Q4, with 6% revenue growth in comparable currencies

February 17, 2021

AkzoNobel delivers 15 by 20 promise and continues strong momentum in Q4, with 6% revenue growth in comparable currencies

Akzo Nobel N.V. (AKZA; AKZOY) publishes results for fourth quarter and full-year 2020

Highlights full-year 2020
• 15.0% ROS excluding unallocated cost¹, delivering on our 15 by 20 promise
• ROI excluding unallocated cost² up at 20.6%, exceeding our 2020 ambition
• €243 million of cost savings, of which €115 million structural savings
• Net cash from operating activities significantly increased to €1,220 million
• €545 million share buyback in 2020

• €1 billion share buyback announced, to be completed in Q1 2022
• Final dividend proposed of €1.52 (2019: €1.49) per share

Highlights Q4 2020
• Strong growth in volumes of 6%; second consecutive quarter of volume growth
• ROS excluding unallocated cost increased to 15.3% (2019: 11.0%) due to strong margin management and cost savings
• Total cost savings €34 million, of which €25 million structural savings related to transformation initiatives 
• Acquisitions of Titan Paints in Spain announced and New Nautical Coatings completed in Q4 2020

AkzoNobel CEO, Thierry Vanlancker, commented:
“Our 2020 results demonstrate structural performance improvement from the first phase of our transformation. Despite COVID-19 headwinds, we rose to the challenge and delivered our 15 by 20 promise, achieving 15% return on sales and more than 20% return on investment.

“We continued to look after our customers and everyone at AkzoNobel deserves enormous credit for their passion and commitment, especially in such a challenging year. We’ve now achieved organic growth for two quarters in a row and announced acquisitions including Titan Paints in Spain and New Nautical Coatings in the US. We transformed our systems and processes and expanded our industry-leading Paint the Future innovation ecosystem. We’ve also accelerated our People. Planet. Paint. approach to sustainability and been recognized by key benchmarks as the leader in the paints and coatings industry.

“What’s really exciting is that we’re literally only half-way through our transformation to reclaim our position as the reference in the industry. Our new Grow & Deliver strategy represents the second stage of our journey – which began in 2017 – to double the profit of AkzoNobel.”

AkzoNobel in € millions	Q4 2019	Q4 2020	Δ%	Δ% CC3
Revenue	2,242	2,209	(1%)	6%
Adjusted operating income4	223	294	32%
ROS	9.9%	13.3%
ROS excluding unallocated cost1	11.0%	15.3%
Operating income	173	243	40%