Akzo sees sales slide

THE paints and coatings giant Akzo Nobel has seen a sharp first quarter slide in revenue.

Akzo, which last year sold the Lancashire paints business Crown to management as a condition of its takeover of Dulux paintmaker ICI, said the worldwide downturn had hit its operations.

The listed Dutch group, which has a research unit in Runcorn and a distribution depot in Warrington, reported a 13% drop in revenue to £2.85bn.

EBITDA was 33% lower at £264m and the group recorded a net loss of £6.2m during the period.

Chief executive Hans Wijers said: “Our first quarter results across all areas of our business reflect the depth of the global economic slowdown.

“We still have limited forward visibility, but there were some early indications in March that conditions in a number of our markets may be stabilising. We are constantly monitoring activity levels and are preparing the company for various economic scenarios.”

Akzo, the world’s largest paints and coatings group, has three main divisions – decorative paints, coatings and speciality chemicals.

It said sales were down 16% in the paints business but savings from the ICI integration were ahead of plan.

Crown Paints, which employs around 600 staff in Darwen, was sold for £70m to a management team backed by the buyout fund Endless last summer.