PPG expects that the ‘uncertain’ global economy amidst the coronavirus pandemic will impact its 2020 results.
Michael McGarry, Chairman and CEO said Thursday “we will not know the full impact of COVID-19 on PPG and our business for some time but will work with urgency to take proactive actions to limit the impact as much as possible.”
Mr. McGarry discussed the results of PPG for 2019 addressing shareholders during a virtual annual meeting and clarified that the details about how COVID-19 has affected its performance since January won’t be discussed until a Q1 earnings call on April 28.
PPG’s Wuhan plant, which manufactures automotive coatings, was shut down from 20 January to 23 March. The company revised manufacturing activities at sites in Milan, Italy and other sites in Europe and other regions.
The manufacturing sites in the United States are considered essential companies that can continue to function with safety measures including break shifts and social distancing.
Full-year 2019 Performance
PPG sales last year totaled $15.1 billion, down 1.5% from 2018. Net income fell to $1.2 billion, or $5.22 per share, down from $1.3 billion, or $5.40 per share in 2018.
At the meeting, shareholders re-elected directors Stephen F. Angel, chief executive officer, Linde plc; Hugh Grant, retired chairman of the board and chief executive officer, Monsanto Company; and Melanie L. Healey, former group president, North America, The Procter & Gamble Company.
Shareholders also approved the appointment of Kathleen Ligocki to PPG’s board effective immediately. Ms. Ligocki is the former chief executive of Agility Fuel Solutions, former president and chief executive of Harvest Power, and a former operating partner at venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
PPG invested $700 million in cash last year to acquire four companies that manufacture coatings for automotive and aerospace products.
In the first quarter of 2020, the company acquired Industria Chimica Reggiana, an Italian coatings maker and Alpha Coating Technologies, a West Chicago firm that makes powder coatings for light industrial applications.