PPG Industries Closes Industria Chimica Reggiana Buyout

PPG Industries Inc. (NYSE:PPG) has completed the earlier announced acquisition of Industria Chimica Reggiana (ICR) S.p.A. The financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed by the company.

ICR is an Italy-based paint and coating manufacturer for automotive refinish and light industrial coatings industries. The company sells products in more than 70 countries across the United States, Latin America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

The automotive refinish products manufactured by the company include putties, primers, clear coats and basecoats under the Sprint brand. Additionally, it produces a full range of enamels, coatings and primers for light commercial vehicles applications.

PPG Industries expect the buyout to complement its current product offerings for the automotive refinish and light industrial coatings industries.

Shares of PPG Industries have gained 14.2% in the past year against the industry’s 29.6% decline.

In January, PPG Industries reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.31 for fourth-quarter 2019, which rose nearly 14% year over year. However, the figure missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.35.

Net sales inched up 0.7% year over year to $3,672 million and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3,662.2 million.

PPG Industries expects organic growth to continue in the Performance Coatings unit in 2020. For the Industrial Coatings unit, the company expects a rebound in volume growth in second-half 2020.

While the company is beginning to witness a modest recovery in industrial demand in China, it expects soft general industrial demand to persist in the United States and Europe.

For 2020, the company projects adjusted EPS growth between 4% and 9%, which excludes the impact of currency translation. First-quarter 2020 EPS from continuing operations are projected in the range of $1.32-$1.42.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

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

Few better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Daqo New Energy Corp (NYSE:DQ) , Royal Gold, Inc (NASDAQ:RGLD) and Impala Platinum Holdings Limited (OTC:IMPUY) , each currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Daqo New Energy has projected earnings growth rate of 326.3% for 2020. The company’s shares have rallied 30.5% in the past year.

Royal Gold has an estimated earnings growth rate of 83.5% for fiscal 2020. Its shares have returned 30.3% in the past year.

Impala Platinum has an expected earnings growth rate of 465.5% for fiscal 2020. The company’s shares have surged 206.3% in the past year.

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