MOSCOW (MRC) -- Axalta Coating Systems Ltd., a leading global coatings company, announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2022, said the company.
Fourth quarter net sales increased 8.7% year-over-year, including a 5.4% foreign currency headwind. The strong year-over-year growth was driven by 11.7% higher average price-mix, and 2.4% better volumes. Performance Coatings net sales increased 1.8% year-over-year, driven by constant currency growth of 10.5% in Refinish and 3.2% in Industrial. Mobility Coatings net sales increased 25.5% supported by a recovery in global auto production and continued pricing momentum.
Income from operations for Q4 2022 totaled USD109.8 million compared to USD94.7 million in Q4 2021. Net income to common shareholders was USD43.6 million, inclusive of approximately USD30 million of pre-tax charges associated with the Term Loan refinancing and restructuring charges, versus USD53.2 million in Q4 2021. Adjusted diluted earnings per share was USD0.38 compared with USD0.30 in Q4 2021. Q4 2022 benefited from robust sales growth, including significant realized pricing gains and volume improvement; however, operating income was negatively impacted by continued year-over-year variable raw material inflation and elevated logistics, energy and labor expenses. In addition, foreign currency headwinds, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and COVID-19 impacts in China represented a combined ~USD17 million headwind to income from operations in the quarter.
Chris Villavarayan, Axalta’s CEO and President, commented, "I am pleased to report fourth quarter earnings at the top of our guidance range, which reflected considerable year-over-year improvement. Strong pricing gains were realized across all end-markets and supported better year-over-year profitability. Margin recovery is a key priority for us and our second-half results showed notable progress on this front. Meanwhile, volumes again improved across the portfolio as demand for our products and services continue to outpace most end-market trends. We are exiting 2022 with strong momentum and a foundation to deliver continued progress into 2023."
Mr. Villavarayan continued, "I am thrilled to be leading the 12,000 team members of Axalta. This is an organization with an impressive legacy built on more than a century of innovation. The quality and depth of our people is impressive and I look forward to what we will accomplish together. In the months ahead my focus will be centered around execution as we look to accelerate an earnings recovery that is already underway."
We remind, Axalta, a leading global supplier of liquid and powder coatings, broke ground for construction of a state-of-the-art coatings facility in Jilin City, Jilin Province, North China. The 46,000-square-meter new plant will produce mobility coatings to support growing customer demand in China for light vehicles, commercial vehicles, and automotive plastic components. "Our new plant in Jilin is another building block supporting our ambitious growth strategy for our mobility business in China," said Nicolas Franc de Ferriere, Vice President, Mobility, Asia Pacific at Axalta.
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