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PPG to Hike Automotive and Industrial Coatings Price in Asia

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PPG Industries (PPG - Free Report) has announced plans to implement a price hike and surcharges in Asia, effective Apr 1 in response to a significant rise in raw material costs. The hike will impact a particular group of automotive original equipment manufacturer (OEM) coatings and industrial coatings products.

The coatings industry in Asia is currently going through a phase of shortage of commodity supply as a result of increased environmental regulations and controls, supplier capacity constraints, and regional availability of feedstocks.

PPG Industries has underperformed the Zacks categorized Chemicals-Diversified industry over the past three months. The company’s shares have rallied around 6.4% over this period, compared with roughly 9.4% gain recorded by the industry.



The company has a diversified business, both in terms of products offered and geographical presence. The company’s strong presence in emerging regions has enabled it to deliver growth to shareholders by tapping opportunities there. PPG Industries is also taking initiatives to expand its business through acquisitions.

PPG Industries has announced certain restructuring measures to lower its cost structure globally. Special emphasis will be put on regions and end-use markets with the weakest business. The restructuring actions are expected to deliver $120–$130 million in annual savings, with $40–$50 million of savings expected to be realized in 2017.

The company also has an impressive record of returning cash to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks. The company returned nearly $1.5 billion to its shareholders in the form of dividend and share repurchases in 2016. The company also raised its quarterly dividend by 11% in 2016. PPG Industries anticipates deploying $2.5–$3.5 billion cash in acquisitions and share repurchases for 2017 and 2018 combined.

PPG Industries is however, exposed to unfavorable currency exchange translation, especially in the emerging markets. The company also continues to face macroeconomic challenges and witnesses uneven growth in emerging economies in 2017. It is also exposed to volatility in raw materials and energy costs.

PPG Industries, Inc. Price and Consensus

 

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

PPG Industries currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Better-ranked companies in the chemical space include Univar Inc. , Arkema S.A. (ARKAY - Free Report) and The Chemours Company (CC - Free Report) .

Univar expects long-term growth of 9.4% and sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Arkema S.A. (ARKAY - Free Report) expects long-term growth of 12.3% and flaunts a Zacks Rank #1

Chemours expects long-term growth of 15.5% and carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

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