Hempel delivers strong result in an extraordinary year and announces first acquisition as part of new strategy
• Strong top line growth in 2020, primarily driven by strong demand in Hempel’s Decorative and Marine segments, despite a declining global coatings market
• In the year of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the company’s organic growth was 3.2 per cent with a total revenue of EUR 1,542 million
• EBITDA margin was satisfactory at 10.1 per cent excluding restructuring costs related to exiting certain countries (9.8 per cent in reported numbers)
• Solid cash generation with a cash conversion of 136 per cent and a free cash flow of EUR 106 mil-lion reducing net interest bearing debt to EUR 22 million - the lowest level since 2017
• An ambitious new strategy, Double Impact, defines the timeframe of a doubling of Hempel by 2025 and sets the company on a path to leadership positions within selected segments
• First acquisition underway as part of new Double Impact strategy
Hempel grew its revenue to EUR 1,542 million in 2020 and demonstrated strong organic growth of 3.2 per cent, despite a declining global coatings market, building on momentum from 2019. The company continued its transformation to become a stronger global company ready to accelerate growth and double the business by 2025.
Despite uncertainty and disruption across regions and markets due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hempel demonstrated agility and clear priorities concerning the safety of employees, timely and high-quality support to customers, as well as financial robustness to protect future investments. With an EBITDA margin of 10.1 per cent, including extraordinary high investments in our supply chain in China, this was a satisfactory result.
“I am very satisfied with our achievements last year as we managed to deliver a strong performance during unprecedented times. We have now seen organic growth for six quarters in a row and been able to reduce our debt further. This puts us in a strong position for the coming years,” says Lars Petersson, Group President & CEO of Hempel and continues, “I would like to personally thank all my colleagues for a truly outstanding performance under very difficult circumstances. You have kept our customers unharmed through-out the pandemic while maintaining health and safety as our number one priority. For this I am truly grateful.”
2020 was a strong year for the Marine segment, especially in Asia Pacific with many vessels coming into dry docking for scheduled maintenance. Hempel’s leading hull coating, Hempaguard X7, completed 2,000 applications. Since its launch in 2013, it has reduced the combined fuel consumption by 7.6 million tonnes and lowered vessels’ CO2 emissions by 23.5 million tonnes.