Axalta provides update on business conditions from April and May

Axalta Coating Systems has announced an update on second quarter sales trends through May 2020.

Axalta had withdrawn its guidance for the full year 2020 in March due to the uncertainty in the outlook for customer demand as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and committed to offering an intra-quarter update in June.

For April and May, total net sales declined in the aggregate by 48% excluding foreign exchange and divestiture impacts (declined 53% including those impacts) versus the same months in the prior year. The decline versus the prior year in May was slightly less than April, with May sales increasing approximately 15% in total compared to April on a sequential basis, given a notable pickup in net sales partly from the restart of automotive OEM production in mid-May.

Performance Coatings segment net sales declined
Performance Coatings segment net sales declined during April and May by 37% excluding foreign exchange and divestiture impacts (declined 42% including those impacts) compared to the same months in the prior year.

Transportation Coatings segment net sales declined by 69% for April and May combined, excluding foreign exchange and M&A impacts (declined 73% including those impacts) versus the same months in the prior year. The production rates for global automotive OEMs are showing steady improvement after many of the automotive OEM sites Axalta supplies in North America and EMEA resumed production beginning the week of May 18th.