PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr. 21, 2016--
PPG (NYSE:PPG) today held its annual meeting of shareholders in
Pittsburgh, where President and Chief Executive Officer Michael H.
McGarry spoke about the company’s continued strategic progress and
record financial performance.
“PPG delivered strong financial results in 2015, achieving the highest
adjusted earnings per diluted share in company history,” McGarry said.
“We deployed $1.15 billion to grow our businesses and reward
shareholders, including completing business acquisitions that totaled
more than $400 million and share repurchases of approximately $750
million.”
At the meeting, McGarry highlighted some recent strategic initiatives
aimed at creating long-term value for PPG shareholders, including the
successful integration of Comex, the leading paint supplier in Mexico,
which PPG acquired in late 2014. PPG Comex has maintained the pace of
opening a new concessionaire location approximately every two days, and
it has surpassed the milestone of 4,000 store locations in Mexico. In
addition, McGarry noted that PPG completed six smaller acquisitions
during 2015 aimed at strengthening its product portfolio, technology and
distribution offerings to customers.
McGarry also highlighted capital investments in 2015 that continued to
support important growth projects throughout the world. These included
resin capacity expansion projects in Cleveland, Ohio; Zhangjiagang,
China; San Juan del Rio, Mexico; and Sumare, Brazil, which will support
growth prospects for PPG in these regions.
“Our investments in several projects have continued into this year, and
we anticipate 2016 capital spending to be greater than 3 percent of
sales as we maintain our focus on profitably growing our company
globally,” McGarry said.
In addition, McGarry discussed several key areas of development and
progress for the company in 2015, including:
-
Positive safety performance;
-
A reduction in the amount of energy consumed by PPG operations and
reductions in waste and emissions;
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A continued increase in the demand for PPG products that provide an
environmental benefit to customers; and
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Completion of 11 projects in the COLORFUL COMMUNITIES™ program – a
10-year community engagement initiative to bring color and vitality to
PPG communities around the world.
Looking ahead, McGarry said, “We continue our focus on driving growth
from within our businesses, and will continue to be aggressive with our
efficiency and productivity initiatives. We are always looking for ways
to improve our cost structure. We are well-positioned to achieve our
goals, and I strongly believe PPG’s brightest days are ahead of us.”
At the meeting, shareholders re-elected directors Berges, Faraci, Haynes
and McGarry and passed a non-binding resolution to approve the
compensation of the company’s named executive officers. Additionally,
shareholders ratified the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as
the company’s independent registered public accounting firm for 2016.
Shareholders reapproved the performance goals under the Amended and
Restated Omnibus Incentive Plan, and approved the amendment and
restatement of the Amended and Restated Omnibus Incentive Plan. The
shareholder proposal requesting that the board of directors adopt a
policy that gives preference to share repurchases relative to cash
dividends did not receive the requisite number of affirmative votes to
pass.
PPG: WE PROTECT AND BEAUTIFY THE WORLD™
At PPG (NYSE:PPG), we work every day to develop and deliver the paints,
coatings and materials that our customers have trusted for more than 130
years. Through dedication and creativity, we solve our customers’
biggest challenges, collaborating closely to find the right path
forward. With headquarters in Pittsburgh, we operate and innovate in
more than 70 countries and reported net sales of $15.3 billion in 2015.
We serve customers in construction, consumer products, industrial and
transportation markets and aftermarkets. To learn more, visit www.ppg.com.
We protect and beautify the world and Colorful Communities
are trademarks and the PPG Logo is a registered trademark of PPG
Industries Ohio, Inc.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160421006385/en/
Source: PPG
PPG Media Contact:
Mark Silvey, +1-412-434-3046
Corporate
Communications
silvey@ppg.com
or
PPG
Investor Contact:
Scott Minder, +1-412-434-3466
Investor
Relations
sminder@ppg.com