AkzoNobel reports its second quarter 2020 results.

AkzoNobel Corporation (stock code: AKZA; AKZOY Announces Second Quarter 2020 Results 2020 Highlights Return on sales, excluding unshared costs, rose to 14% (13.7% in the same period in 2019) thanks to strong profit margin management and cost control. The impact of the new coronavirus pneumonia outbreak eased in the current quarter, with sales down about 30% in April and sales down nearly 5% in June. Total cost savings of EUR 116 million for cost control, including 38 million euros in structural cost savings related to the transformation plan, Net cash from operating activities improved to EUR 308 million (EUR 152 million for the same period in 2019), and balance sheet continued to perform strongly in the second quarter of 2020 (compared to Q2 2019) Sales fell by 19% (17% at constant exchange rates), 2% in pricing/portfolio contribution, and by 18% due to the outbreak of new coronavirus pneumonia. Adjusted operating income 2 was EUR 238 million (EUR 305 million for the same period in 2019); Operating income of EUR 207 million, including a negative impact of EUR 31 million identified as a project, was mainly related to transformation costs (revenue for the same period in 2019 was EUR 308 million, including a positive impact of EUR 3 million that could be identified for the project); Net income attributable to shareholders was EUR 129 million (231 million euros for the same period in 2019) Adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations were EUR 0.80 (eur 0.96 for the same period in 2019) and earnings per share from overall operations were EUR 0.68 (EUR 1.07 for the same period in 2019), said Thierry Vanlancker, Chief Executive Officer of AkzoNobel, "Despite continued weak market demand in the second quarter, our return on sales rose by 30 basis points to 14 per cent, driven by continued market demand in the second quarter."i'm proud of the continued focus of all our employees on providing quality service to our customers, improving performance resistance, and helping communities affected by the outbreakin the face of the uncertainties associated with the new coronavirus pneumonia outbreak, we are working to improve performance and play the role of industry leader by promoting a rigorous cash management system and a strong balance sheet"AkzoNobel Results (millions of euros) Q2 2019 Q2 2020 Q2 2020 Q2 20202.0% return on sales (excluding unshared costs) 113.7% 14.0% operating income 308207 (33%) Latest highlightakNobel joins hands with International SOS Children's Village Re-Colorful Story AkzoNobel and International SOS Children's Village have reached a consensus to extend the global partnership for another three yearsbased on the company's "Let's Color Colorful Start" project, the partnership has benefited more than 20,000 children and adolescents around the worldthe project will continue to focus on a new living space and provide practical skills training for a better future for young people, vulnerable families and children who have lost their parents' carechallenge the new coronavirus pneumonia outbreak, AkzoNobel not only continues to supply products to key industries around the world, but our business and our employees are doing their best to support regional projects and community programs to help as many people as possibleDoles has made the walls tougher with the launch of a new generation of Dorex EasyCare Plus products, a complete upgrade of stain-resistant interior wall paintthe wear-resistant technology used in this product gives the walls a matte coating with exceptional wear resistance, giving the inner wall coating excellent mechanical strength, the new coating allows walls to be free from plastic, rubber or wood collisions without leaving any "scars"Interpon's focus on health issues AkzoNobel Interpon Powder Coatings continues to make important contributions to key industries around the worldfor health-sensitive environments, including hospitals, we use BioCote ® antimicrobial technology to enhance the functionality of the Interpon D1000 and 2000 series of architectural powder coatings, further expanding our antibacterial product line to protect against microorganisms such as bacteria and molds that can cause odors, stains or material degradation, and to enhance protection for building interiors,BioCote ® antimicrobial technology does not protect users or others from pathogenic bacteria, microorganisms, viruses or other harmful organisms for their health, nor does they replace good hygiene and/or cleaning practices's innovation in adversity, the second AkzoNobel "Tu-Create the Future" Global Challenge received nearly 200 proposalsthis year's Challenge aims to collect the creative thinking that employees have shown in the months since the outbreak of the new coronavirus pneumonia outbreak, as employees respond to the outbreak and adapt to new challenges500 employees from various parts of the company were invited to rate the ideas and select the shortlist, from which the winner was chosen proud smile AkzoNobel CEO Van Diruir has signed the Amsterdam Declaration, pledging the company's full support and inclusion of the Gender and Sexual orientation (LGBTI) community at the official signing event, Van Dijk expressed the hope that AkzoNobel would give every employee a sense of belonging at home and that all employees deserved a workplace that would give them a sense of respect and equality of opportunity, regardless of their sexual orientation, race, gender or nationality the initiative was launched by The Workplace Pride, and the declaration was signed as a visible and positive demonstration of the commitment of the business to creating an inclusive environment for everyone outlook for the future: Global markets have been in severe disarray as a result of the new coronavirus pneumonia pandemic, forcing AkzoNobel to hold off on its 2020 financial targets in an uncertain macroeconomic environment, demand trends are different due to geographical and market segments, and the impact of the new coronavirus pneumonia outbreak is expected to continue into the second half of 2020 the second half of 2020, raw material prices are expected to have a favourable impact active margin management and cost control projects are ready to meet the current market challenges our goal is to achieve a leverage ratio of 1.0-2.0 times by the end of 2020, and to strive to maintain a strong investment grade credit rating AkzoNobel's second quarter 2020 results report may be in browsing and downloading 1 Return on sales (excluding unallocated costs) is the ratio of adjusted operating income to sales of the decorative paint business and high-performance coatings business (excluding unallocated corporate center costs) 2 Adjusted operating income operating income less the calculation of the fixed item 3 Does not include the impact of foreign exchange rate fluctuations.