PPG reports Q1 adjusted EPS $1.72, consensus $1.62

Reports Q1 revenue $3.68B, consensus $3.66B.Tim Knavish, PPG (PPG) chairman and chief executive officer, commented on the quarter: “We are beginning to realize the benefits from our enterprise growth strategy as we delivered positive organic sales growth with increases in both sales volumes and selling prices. Our Performance Coatings segment delivered 9% organic sales growth, with several businesses growing above market rates including automotive refinish coatings and traffic solutions, along with double-digit percentage growth in our aerospace coatings and protective and marine coatings businesses. Regionally, we delivered year-over-year organic sales growth in Asia Pacific, and after six quarters of declines or flat performance we achieved 4% organic sales growth in the U.S., driven by share gains and improvement in industrial production. European organic sales were down 1%, which was a significant improvement versus prior quarters as demand for our products is stabilizing in the region. These topline results reinforce our positive organic growth momentum and contributed to improved manufacturing productivity. In addition, we benefited from the acceleration of our self-help cost actions, and we are now expecting to deliver $75 million in annual savings this year, along with additional discretionary cost management actions. The current macro-economic environment is highly dynamic and our business model has historically proven to be well positioned to navigate through uncertainty given our diverse, global business portfolio, asset-light footprint and highly variable cost structure. In addition, we have a demonstrated track record of consistent cash generation through all stages of the business cycle to complement our strong balance sheet. As we look ahead with this economic backdrop, we are executing our self-help cost actions, working with our suppliers and customers to adjust to global product flows and mitigate cost impacts, and we are further strengthening our structural organic growth capabilities. We are maintaining our full-year earnings per share guidance range of $7.75 to $8.05.”