PPG Industries Inc. late Thursday said it expects the U.S. economy to “remain subdued” in the first half of the year but anticipates more demand for its products in China and Mexico.
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It said it expects its business in China to continue to improve and economic activity in Europe to “stabilize in 2024 at current levels.”
In Mexico, PPG’s second-largest country in terms of total net sales, the company said it expects “strong momentum to continue.”
In the U.S. and Canada, sales of architectural coatings were lower as growth in sales to contractors “was more than offset by continuing softness in do-it-yourself demand,” PPG said.
The company reported fourth-quarter results that beat analyst expectations, but the stock headed 1% lower in the extended session as the first-quarter outlook came in lower than forecast.
For the fourth quarter, PPG earned an adjusted $1.53 a share on sales of $4.4 billion, up 4% year over year, compared with the analyst consensus estimate of adjusted earnings of $1.49 a share on sales of $4.3 billion, according to FactSet.
The company called for first-quarter adjusted earnings between $1.80 and $1.87 a share, and fiscal 2024 adjusted EPS between $8.34 and $8.59.
The FactSet consensus calls for adjusted EPS of $1.98 for the first quarter and $8.47 for the year.
Shares of PPG have gained 13% in the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 index SPX has gone up about 21% in the same period.
