Recently, seven major international paint giants, including Sherwin-Williams, PPG, AkzoNobel, Nippon Paint, Axalta, BASF, and Jotun, have disclosed their 2024 financial performance reports. RPM had already released its 2024 fiscal year results last year, while Asian Paints and Kansai Paint recently published their performance reports for the first three quarters of the 2025 fiscal year. According to the data, Sherwin-Williams retained the top spot globally with $23.1 billion in sales revenue, followed by PPG with $15.845 billion, and AkzoNobel with $11.1394 billion.
Notably, the sales revenue gap between Nippon Paint and AkzoNobel was only $372.5 million, with Nippon Paint ranking fourth at $10.7669 billion. AkzoNobel's sales revenue reached $11.56 billion, while Nippon Paint's was $10.217 billion, showing a $1.343 billion gap. Compared to 2024, the revenue gap between the two companies has significantly narrowed.
RPM ranked fifth with $7.3353 billion in sales, followed by Axalta ($5.276 billion), BASF ($4.4808 billion), Asian Paints ($4.1046 billion), Kansai Paint ($3.806 billion), and Jotun ($3.1883 billion). However, RPM's revenue includes a significant portion from non-paint business sales, while BASF's coatings division includes surface treatment operations. The sales revenue gap between Asian Paints and Kansai Paint was only $298.6 million.
According to financial reports, Sherwin-Williams achieved a total net sales revenue of $23.0985 billion in 2024, a 0.2% year-on-year increase. The growth was driven by low single-digit volume growth and price increases, partially offset by unfavorable exchange rates. EBITDA reached $4.4915 billion, up 8.2%, while pre-tax income grew 11% to $3.4518 billion. Net profit increased by 12.25% to $2.6814 billion.
Sherwin-Williams Chairman, President, and CEO Heidi G. Petz stated, “As we enter 2025, we are confident in our differentiated strategy, which continues to provide innovative and productive solutions to our customers. We expect weak demand in several end markets to persist into the second half of the year, if not into 2026. However, each of our businesses has significant above-market growth opportunities, and we will relentlessly pursue them.”
PPG Industries reported a net sales revenue of $15.845 billion in 2024, a 2% year-on-year decline, primarily due to a slight decrease in sales volume, unfavorable exchange rates, and asset divestments. Sales volume decreased by 1%, with growth in Mexico, China, and India being offset by declines in automotive OEM, industrial, and European, Middle Eastern, and African coatings businesses.
PPG achieved a strong 6% adjusted EPS growth, driven by its advantageous business mix and strong brand performance. Net profit reached $1.344 billion, a 10% increase, while adjusted net profit rose 5% to $1.848 billion.
PPG Chairman and CEO Tim Knavish expressed optimism about the future, stating that while global industrial demand remains challenging, the company expects modest organic sales growth in 2025, with a slow start in Q1 but stronger performance in the second half.
AkzoNobel reported 2024 sales revenue of €10.711 billion ($11.1394 billion), remaining stable compared to the previous year. Organic sales increased by 2%, driven by 1% volume growth and a 1% price/mix increase, particularly in high-performance coatings.
The adjusted EBITDA for 2024 was €1.478 billion, up 3%, while adjusted operating profit increased 4% to €1.113 billion. Net profit surged 22.62% to €542 million. CEO Greg Poux-Guillaume highlighted a challenging market environment but emphasized the company’s commitment to resilience and self-sustaining measures for long-term performance improvements.
Nippon Paint reported 2024 full-year sales revenue of ￥1.63872 trillion ($10.7669 billion), a 13.6% year-on-year increase, driven by sales growth in key markets such as China and the impact of the yen depreciation. Net profit reached ￥128.674 billion ($836.6 million), up 7.5%.
Looking ahead to 2025, the company aims to strengthen its growth foundation through strategic acquisitions, brand expansion, and increasing its market presence across different regions.
RPM reported a record net sales revenue of $7.3353 billion in the 2024 fiscal year, up 1.1%, mainly driven by strong demand in engineered solutions for infrastructure and high-performance buildings.
Pre-tax profit increased by 21.32% to $787.8 million, while net profit rose 22.87% to $589.4 million. EBITDA margin improvements were attributed to procurement efficiency, improved product mix, and leveraging fixed costs in growth sectors.
According to the financial report, Axalta achieved a net sales revenue growth of 1.8% year-on-year in 2024, reaching $5.276 billion, including a 0.4% adverse foreign exchange impact. The increase in net sales was driven by a 1.1% rise in volume, including contributions from the acquisition of Andr é Koch in October 2023, a 0.7% contribution from the CoverFlexx acquisition in July 2024, and a 0.4% increase in average selling price and product mix.
For the full year, net profit reached $391 million, a 45% year-on-year increase, with a net profit margin of 7.4%, up 220 basis points. The growth in net profit was mainly due to lower variable costs, sales growth including acquisition contributions, reduced spending on consulting and enterprise resource planning system implementation, and savings from 2024 transformation initiatives, partially offset by labor inflation and increased restructuring costs. The record full-year adjusted EBITDA was $1.116 billion, with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 21.2%.
Axalta provided financial guidance for Q1 and the full year of 2025. It expects Q1 2025 net sales to remain flat year-on-year, with adjusted EBITDA at $265 million and adjusted diluted EPS at $0.54. Full-year 2025 net sales are projected at $5.35-$5.40 billion, with adjusted EBITDA forecasted at $1.15-$1.175 billion, adjusted diluted EPS at $2.50-$2.60, and free cash flow of $500 million, with depreciation and amortization expenses at $285 million.
According to the financial report, BASF’s coatings division reported sales revenue of €4.28 billion ($4.4808 billion) in 2024, a 2.4% year-on-year decline. This included a 0.3% decrease in volume, a 2.5% revenue increase driven by sales price adjustments, a 4.5% decline due to unfavorable exchange rates, and a 0.1% decrease due to portfolio adjustments. Notably, surface treatment and decorative coatings businesses saw volume growth, while automotive OEM coatings volume slightly declined. Sales prices increased for automotive OEM coatings and surface treatment.
BASF’s coatings division is evaluating strategic options for value creation. On February 17, 2025, Sherwin-Williams and BASF Group reached a definitive agreement for Sherwin-Williams to acquire BASF’s Brazilian architectural coatings business (Suvinil) for $1.15 billion in an all-cash transaction. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2025, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval in Brazil. Suvinil is a leading supplier of architectural coatings in Brazil, with 2024 sales of approximately $525 million.
Following the sale of its Brazilian architectural coatings business, BASF announced that in Q2 2025, it intends to explore strategic options for its remaining coatings operations, including automotive OEM coatings, automotive refinish coatings, and surface treatment. Reuters recently reported that BASF’s new CEO, Dr. Markus Kamieth, revealed in a global conference call that the group is reviewing its coatings business strategy, potentially seeking joint venture partners or changes in ownership. This has been confirmed by recorded meeting transcripts. BASF previously indicated that divesting its coatings business is a key option, with possibilities including forming a joint venture or a complete sale.
On February 7, Kansai Paint released its Q3 FY2025 financial results. The group’s net sales for the first three quarters reached ￥444.752 billion ($2.9426 billion), a 5.3% year-on-year increase, driven by growth in Japan’s shipbuilding industry, India’s automotive sector, and Europe’s industrial segment. Despite lower raw material prices and efforts to reduce costs, increased fixed costs in Europe led to a 5.2% year-on-year decline in operating profit to ￥39.247 billion. Operating income also declined 5.4% to ￥41.795 billion due to reduced equity-method investment income, despite gains from foreign exchange. Net profit was ￥32.917 billion, down 39.0% year-on-year, partly due to the absence of a one-time special gain recorded in the previous year.
Kansai Paint cited global economic uncertainty due to central bank policy rate changes, geopolitical risks, and currency fluctuations. Japan’s economy is slowly recovering, but risks from rising interest rates, the Ukraine crisis, Middle East tensions, and exchange rate volatility persist. India’s growth is slowing due to inflation and high interest rates but remains strong, driven by domestic demand. In Europe, economic recovery signs are emerging with easing inflation and potential interest rate cuts, but some areas remain stagnant. China’s economy shows signs of recovery, but concerns over the real estate market slowdown persist.
Kansai Paint revised its FY2025 full-year forecast, expecting net sales of ￥580 billion ($3.806 billion, exchange rate: 1 USD = 152.40 JPY), up 3.2% year-on-year. Operating profit is projected at ￥52 billion, up 0.8%, with operating income at ￥58 billion, up 0.5%. Net profit is forecast at ￥40 billion ($262.5 million), down 40.4% year-on-year due to weakened demand and changing market conditions in India, Europe, and Asia.
Recently, Asian Paints released its financial report for the quarter ending December 31, 2024. Consolidated net sales for Q3 FY2025 declined 6.1% to ?85.215 billion ($1.026 billion), with PBDIT dropping 20.4% to ?16.367 billion. The PBDIT margin declined from 22.7% in Q3 FY2024 to 19.2%. Pre-tax profit fell 22.8% to ?15.182 billion, while net profit dropped 23.3% year-on-year to ?11.105 billion.
For the first three quarters of FY2025, consolidated net sales declined 4.5% year-on-year to ?254.678 billion. PBDIT dropped 22.5% to ?45.7 billion, with the PBDIT margin decreasing from 22.1% to 17.9%. Pre-tax profit declined 25.6% to ?42.61 billion, while net profit fell 29.2% to ?29.751 billion. Analysts expect full-year FY2025 consolidated sales to reach ?340.678 billion ($4.1046 billion, exchange rate: 1 USD = 83 INR), a 3.7% decline year-on-year, with net profit projected at ?40.2 billion ($484.3 million), down 28%.
Asian Paints MD and CEO Amit Syngle stated, “The paint industry continues to face weak demand, particularly in urban centers. Overall, our India paints business declined 6.6%, including industrial coatings. The domestic decorative business saw a 1.6% volume growth, but standalone revenue declined 7.5%. While operating profit improved sequentially, the adverse mix and higher sales & distribution costs affected year-on-year growth.”
Syngle added that industrial coatings performed well, with revenue growing 3.8%, supported by robust growth in general industrial and refinish coatings. The company continues expanding its home décor business and international presence, driven by strong Middle Eastern and Asian markets.
Jotun’s 2024 revenue grew 7.0% year-on-year to NOK 34.206 billion ($3.1883 billion), with a 9.0% increase at constant exchange rates. Sales momentum remained strong across all divisions. Operating profit rose 5.0% to NOK 6.766 billion, supported by higher sales and improved gross margins. Pre-tax profit was NOK 5.849 billion, flat year-on-year.
Jotun’s Q4 2024 revenue grew 15% year-on-year, or 12% adjusted for currency effects, with all segments seeing double-digit growth. Sales volume growth and favorable mix effects drove revenue increases. Despite steady raw material costs, higher sales and improved margins lifted Q4 operating profit by 17% to NOK 1.298 billion.
