Coatings divisions.
In the Oil & Gas segment, considerably higher volumes in the fourth
quarter could not compensate for significantly lower oil and gas prices. Sales
declined by three percent to € 4.0 billion.
At €347 million, EBIT before special
items was €155 million below the same
period of the previous year. Full-year
sales grew by two percent to € 15.1 billion in 2014, mainly through higher volumes in the natural gas trading business.
Sharply falling oil and gas prices weakened sales growth. In the Exploration &
Production business sector, the activities
in Norway acquired from Statoil led to
positive portfolio effects. EBIT before
special items declined by € 61 million to
€1.8 billion as a result of slightly smaller
contributions from both business sectors.
Net income declined by €266 million to
€1.5 billion.
Sales in Other in the fourth quarter
fell by 37 percent to €700 million. EBIT
before special items improved by € 86
million to minus € 28 million. Full-year
sales decreased by 14 percent to € 3. 6
billion. This was predominantly because
of lower plant availability after a plant
outage at the Ellba C.V. joint operation
in Moerdijk, Netherlands. EBIT before
special items improved by € 52 million to
minus €566 million. The reversal of provisions for the long-term incentive (LTI)
program and an improvement in foreign
currency results not assigned to the segments were partly offset by lower earnings contributions from other businesses.
Sika Announces Record
Growth in 2014
Sika reported record sales in 2014. In fis-
cal year 2014, Sika continued its growth
and achieved what it calls “the best result
in the company’s history.”
Sales reached record levels in all re-
gions and all relevant growth targets for
2014 were exceeded. High growth mo-
mentum and disciplined cost manage-
ment led to new record figures of CHF
633.2 million (+ 21.0 percent) for the
operating result and CHF 441.2 million
(+ 28.0 percent) for net profit.
Sika CEO Jan Jenisch said: “Our re-
cord year in 2014 is the result of our
strategic continuity and the expertise and
commitment of our 16,895 employees.
Their energy, ideas and active embodi-
ment of the Sika Spirit have taken Sika to
the next level of performance. On behalf
of Group Management, I wish to thank
them all for their hard work and loyalty
over the past year.”
Sika reported that the company sig-
nificantly exceeded its growth targets
for full year 2014. It increased sales by
13 percent (in local currencies) to CHF
5,571.3 million. All regions contributed
to this growth and set new sales records.
The negative currency effect for the full
year was 4. 7 percent. Sales in Swiss
francs increased by 8. 3 percent after ad-
justment for currency effects.
Sales in the region EMEA (Europe,
Middle East, Africa) experienced an in-
crease of 13. 3 percent. Visible growth
drivers in the Middle East and Africa
and the moderate recovery seen in the
southern European markets had a posi-
tive impact on the region’s development.
North America recorded a 7. 9 per-
cent increase in sales. Construction proj-
ects put on hold in recent years are now
being carried out.
The region Asia/Pacific witnessed
a 12. 9 percent increase in sales, break-
ing the CHF 1 billion barrier for the
first time. At 16.0 percent, sales growth
remained consistently high in Latin
America in 2014. In a demanding busi-
ness environment, Sika benefited from its
strong market presence.
The company reported that Strategy
2018 is delivering results in excess of
Sika’s targets and expectations. Its core
features are the accelerated development
of growth markets, investments in new
factories and the launch of new products.
A key growth driver in the year under review was the high-margin mortar business, which recorded sales growth of 31
percent. The strategy is implemented by
results-driven employees who are ready
to take responsibility and whose main
priority is the customer, Jenisch stated.
Jotun Reports Profit of NOK
1.3 Billion for 2014
Jotun gained a top line growth of nine
per ent, partly driven by currency
fluctuations. After a some-
what careful start of the year,
the sales numbers improved
throughout the year, and Jotun
experienced a substantial growth of 17
percent during the last four months.
Jotun obtained total sales of NOK 17. 5
billion in 2014, including full revenues
of associates and of joint ventures, com-
pared to NOK 16 billion in the same
period the year before.
Among Jotun’s many segments, the
sales development within Decorative
Paints has been good, particularly in
Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
Additionally, there has been an improvement in the segment of Marine Coatings,
particularly due to constructions of new
ships in Northeast Asia. All segments
achieved double-digit percentage growth
last four months.
Asian Paints Consolidated
Net Profit for the Quarter
Increases
Asian Paints Ltd. has announced its financial results for the quarter and nine
months ended December 31, 2014.
“We registered single-digit volume
growth in the decorative paint segment in India due to sluggish demand
conditions,” said K. B.S. Anand, managing director & CEO, Asian Paints
Limited. “Growth in the current quarter was also impacted due to the early
festival season as compared to the previous year. The Automotive coatings
JV (PPG-AP), witnessed good growth
in the General Industrial and Auto
Refinish business segment. However,
the Auto OEM business was impacted
by subdued consumer demand.
“The growth in the Industrial
Coatings JV (AP-PPG), was led by demand in the Industrial Liquid Paints
segment. The international business performance was led by double digit growth
in some markets like Bangladesh, Nepal
& Emirates even though some countries
continued to be affected by political
events and macro-economic uncertain-ty. The ramp-up of Home improvement
business has been slower than expected,
due to weak consumer sentiments,” he
added. CW
