Among them, the industrial coatings business achieved net sales of 1.47 billion US dollars in the first quarter, an increase of 97 million US dollars over the same period of the previous year, an increase of nearly 7%. Sales achieved a medium-digit growth year-on-year, with the acquisition business contributing $60 million in sales, or about 4%. The average selling price dropped by about 1% year-on-year, and the company is planning to raise the selling price to cope with the pressure from rising raw material prices. Unfavorable exchange rates dragged down net sales by $20 million, more than 1%. Sales of industrial protection and marine coatings business declined by a double-digit decline compared to last year, as the decline in marine coating sales in the Asia-Pacific region led to a significant reduction in sales of marine coatings, which completely offset the increase in sales of industrial protective coatings.

In the first quarter of 2017, the continuing operations achieved a net profit of $334 million, equivalent to $1.29 per share. During the same period, the net profit from continuing operations was $351 million, equivalent to $1.35 per share.

“In the first quarter, our adjusted diluted earnings per share continued to grow year-on-year, climbing more than 6% from the same period of the previous year. Although the global market demand is flat, the performance of each region is uneven and affected by unfavorable exchange rates, but we In the first quarter, a good start was achieved," said Michael H. McGarry, Chairman and CEO of PPG. "Earnings per share continue to improve compared to the fourth quarter of 2016, mainly benefiting from the company's long-term cash deployment projects, sales. Steady growth and ongoing cost control measures. Rising raw material costs have had a negative impact on earnings, but we offset some of its impact through price adjustments,” McGarry said.

“From the perspective of business units, the sales volume of industrial coatings increased by more than 5% year-on-year, which is more than double the average sales growth of the global industry. The sales volume of each sub-business of industrial coatings has achieved medium-digit annual growth. Sales in the Coatings Division were flat compared to the same period last year, while marine coatings remained very weak, offsetting growth in other businesses,” added McGarry.

“Looking ahead, we expect the global economy to continue to maintain moderate growth, especially in developed regions. Compared with recent economic optimism, the total demand in the US and Canada markets still has room to expand. Most of the business in the European market is expected to continue. Growth. Emerging markets will continue to grow at a steady rate, mainly due to increased consumer demand in Asia and Latin America, including Brazil, which may pick up after demand bottoms out,” McGarry said.

“We will continue to focus on M&A opportunities that drive profitable growth, leverage strong cash balances for cash deployment, and create greater benefits for shareholders,” McGarry continued. “PPG has been very attractive to AkzoNobel recently. A strong M&A offer.

Although the offer has been rejected by AkzoNobel and its board of directors has rejected PPG's many invitations to the talks, we are still willing to cooperate with Akzo Nobel and continue to believe that the strong cooperation between the two companies will be in line with the interests of both parties. The best interests of the people. In addition, we currently have a number of potential acquisition targets covering major end markets and geographic regions. We will continue to focus on maximizing long-term value for our shareholders. McGarry concluded.

As of March 31, 2017, PPG's total cash and short-term investments totaled approximately $1.4 billion, an increase of approximately $350 million from the previous year. In the first quarter, the company repurchased a total of 1.6 million shares (worth approximately $165 million) in company stock. The average number of diluted shares outstanding decreased by approximately 4% from the same period of the previous year. At present, the company still has $1.7 billion in stock repurchase authorization. PPG reiterated that it will spend $2.5-3.5 billion in cash for acquisitions and share buybacks in 2017 and 2018.