Arkema Q1 Report 2024
- Sales of €2.3 billion, down by 7.3% year-on-year:
- Slight volume growth in the 3 Specialty Materials segments (+2.7%)
- Good momentum in certain markets such as structural bonding, sports, automotive and energy
- Negative 8.4% price effect in Specialty Materials, mainly reflecting lower raw material prices and still unfavorable market conditions in upstream acrylics and PVDF
- EBITDA at €350 million, down slightly year-on-year (€367 million in Q1’23), supported in particular by the improving performance of industrial adhesives, high performance polymers and the downstream of Coating Solutions, but impacted by lower PVDF and acrylics prices compared with the high comparison base of Q1’23
- EBITDA margin up slightly to 15.0%, reflecting the dynamic management of selling prices and the benefit of the Group’s innovation in higher value-added solutions
- Adjusted net income of €138 million, representing €1.84 per share (€2.17 in Q1’23)
- Recurring cash flow of negative €60 million (negative €21 million in Q1’23), reflecting the usual first-quarter seasonality in working capital
- Net debt broadly stable at €3,063 million (€2,930 million at end-December 2023) including hybrid bonds and representing around 2x last-twelve-months EBITDA
- Full-year 2024 guidance confirmed: the Group confirms its 2024 target of EBITDA estimated at between €1.5 billion and €1.7 billion, with growth weighted more toward the second half of the year, and driven by the ramp-up of major industrial projects and a gradual improvement in market conditions. Second-quarter EBITDA should be slightly up compared with the prior year.
- Continuation of the targeted acquisition strategy in adhesives, with the planned acquisition, for an enterprise value of US$150 million, of Dow’s flexible packaging laminating adhesives business (sales of US$250 million)
