Arkema 2020 First Quarter Results

in the first quarter, the group's results were in line with expectations as an outbreak of new coronapneumonia in Asia spread to Europe in MarchExcluding the impact of the outbreak of new coronary pneumonia, the Group's performance benefited from the strong resilience of specialty materials, particularly strong growth in the adhesive solutions sector, in a more unfavourable economic environment than in 2019In addition, the Group's balance sheet and liquidity levels remain very stableaffected by the outbreak of new coronal pneumonia, sales of 2.1 billion euros, down 5.7% YoY
EBITDA of 300 million euros, down 19% from the first quarter of 2019, mainly affected by the impact of new coronal pneumonia about 45 million euros
excluding the impact of the new coronapneumonia outbreak, special materials EBITDA remained stable thanks
to the adhesive solutions sector Significant growth, profitbefores before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisationthe transport, oil and gas and electronics markets declined, but the packaging and nutrition market grewthe intermediatesector sector was mainly affected by the new coronapneumonia outbreak and the more unfavourable market conditions of fluorogas
adjusted net income of 100 million euros, earnings per share of 1.31 euros
free cash flow close to balance, negative 38 million euros, reflecting the seasonal growth of working capital
Net debt was tightly controlled at 2.481 billion euros (including 1 billion euros of mixed bonds), an increase of 150 million euros (2.331 billion euros, including mixed bonds) from December 31, 2019, more than half of which related to the acquisition of adhesives in the Danish LIP company
at the end of March, the liquidity level was 1.5 billion euros, confirming the Group's liquidity level s., The financial strengththe level of capital expenditure will be reduced by 100 million euros compared with the initial planned level in 2020, and the fixed cost will be reduced by 50 million euros in 2020 compared with 2019 to accommodate the new coronapneumonia outbreak
on May 5, 2020, Arkema will convene a board of directors to consider the Group's consolidated financial information for the first quarter of 2020Thierry Le H?naff, chairman and chief executive of The Arkema Group, said: '
"
" in the face of the health crisis of the new coronal pneumonia outbreak, our priority is to protect the health and safety of the group's male and female employees I would like to thank them for their commitment and response during this period, which requires us to constantly adjust our operational processes The continuity of our business is largely maintained, enabling us to continue to serve our customers 's first-quarter financial results fell year-on-year, with significant initial impacts from the outbreak of new coronary pneumonia Nevertheless, the Group maintains a very strong financial structure, particularly thanks to the contribution of specialty materials Global demand has fallen sharply as a result of a broad blockade imposed by several governments, and second-quarter sales will also be strongly affected The Group is taking decisive steps to adjust costs and investments to address this situation, while the Group will also benefit from the diversity and balanced geographical distribution of its end markets based on these elements, and focusing on the evolution of the global environment, I believe Akoma has the ability to manage this highly complex period, get out of trouble, and prepare for the future On this basis, we plan to continue to implement the ambitious transformation strategy announced on April 2, 2020, with a view to achieving our goal of becoming a pure specialty materials manufacturer by 2024 "
outlook for the 2020 so far, the outbreak of new coronary pneumonia continues to spread around the world, the evolution of events and its impact on the global economy is uncertain Against this background, the Group has previously announced that its 2020 guidance, which is published in connection with its 2019 earnings report, will no longer apply Global demand is expected to slow significantly in the second quarter of this year as blockades imposed in different parts of the world are affecting many aspects of the economy The U.S and European construction markets will be particularly affected in the second quarter, which will also particularly affect the performance of the adhesive solutions and coating solutions divisions While continuing to monitor developments, the Group will use its strengths to best manage the current situation and mitigate the impact of the crisis This includes its balanced geographical layout, diversity of end markets, and innovative capabilities, especially in niche applications that are critical to the fight against viruses, such as disinfection, medical equipment, and protective barriers and masks outlook beyond the end of the quarter, the improvement and prospects of the economic environment will depend on the development of the epidemic Although the Group expects global demand to gradually recover from the middle of the year, there is still a high degree of uncertainty about the development of the outbreak and Akoma is unable to make a reliable enough estimate of the impact of the crisis on its full-year 2020 results to reduce the economic impact of the new coronary pneumonia outbreak, the Group plans to reduce capital expenditure by 100 million euros in 2020 from its original level and fixed costs by 50 million euros from 2019 benefit from these initiatives, product line positioning, modest debt and strong liquidity levels, Arkema is confident that it is capable of dealing with this unprecedented crisis and will be well positioned to recover finally, the Group continues to promote its long-term development strategy, in line with its ambitious goal of becoming a pure specialty materials producer by 2024 more details on the Group's first quarter 2020 results, please click on the original to view the First Quarter 2020 Financial Results, or we can also obtain a description of the situation on this website In line with the new reporting structure presented in the 2 April 2020 Strategic Update, the Group has also released the New Key Data for Quarterly Reporting 2019, which details the key financial indicators for 2019 on a quarterly basis