Leading paint producer PPG Industries improved the margins in its coating business by roughly 13%, and its earnings by 30%, on the back of modest decreases in titanium dioxide (TiO2) prices for Q4 2012.
The US-based company also reduced its consumption of TiO2 by 4% per can and sees opportunities for further reductions by a low single digit percentage during 2013.
In early 2012, PPG initiated this venture because of the prohibitive cost of TiO2 pigment although this has since abated.
“We have seen declines in the [pricing trends] since the beginning of the second quarter...