PPG (Pittsburgh) reported a net income decline of about 25 percent during the second quarter of 2018 compared with one year ago, falling from $496 million to $371 million.
The coatings giant’s net sales increased 9 percent compared with the second quarter of 2017, jumping from $3.8 billion to $4.1 billion.
PPG credited the income decrease to increased material and logistics costs.
“We are working diligently to offset these cost pressures by collaborating with our customers on selling price initiatives, with our pricing in the second quarter increasing more than 2 percent year-over-year,” PPG Chairman and CEO Michael McGarry said in a statement.
McGarry also said the company is not anticipating any relief from inflationary cost pressures. A business restructuring program planned by the PPG is aiming for $85 million in annual savings, McGarry said.
“Based on these actions, along with our continued focus on operational excellence, we expect the pace of our margin recovery to accelerate in the second half of 2018,” McGarry said.
PPG also announced that directors approved a 7 percent dividend increase to 48 cents per share, payable September 12 to shareholders of record August 10. The company’s prior quarterly dividend was 45 cents per share.
