Key business developments

Some of our customers

Top raw materials

Key cost drivers

Decorative Paints Europe, Middle East and Africa

Market share growth achieved in Europe and Africa, despite higher raw material costs, price increases in several countries and lower consumer confidence in the UK. We also saw growth in exterior products in Turkey and strong progress in our professional painters business in Belgium and the Netherlands
We opened the world’s most advanced and sustainable paint plant in Ashington, UK. The new center of production for Dulux – the UK’s leading decorative paint brand – it represents the largest ever global investment in our paints activities
Sikkens Alpha Rezisto was launched for professional painters in numerous European countries. The product’s hydrophobic coating creates a surface which repels many common household stains
Successful mid-tier consumer product launches took place in Russia, South Africa and Morocco, while new e-commerce initiatives were successfully launched in several countries, including the Netherlands, Poland and the UK
Our UK business was awarded the Carbon Trust Triple Standard for the second time. It recognizes AkzoNobel as having the greatest positive impact on the environment

in € millions

Revenue and volumes were up, despite economic weakness and political uncertainty in our key market, Brazil
Launched Easycare premium wall paint across the region and aligned all markets to the Weathershield family of premium exterior wall paints
Commercial excellence initiatives adopted by our distributor network in Brazil resulted in gains in store presence and sales. As a result, we were ranked #1 supplier among small retailers for the first time in a survey run by the construction retailers’ national association
A new water treatment plant was inaugurated at Mauá in São Paulo, which allows recycled water to be used to make paint. The facility expects to reuse 80% of its water in 2018 and 100% by 2020
We also announced phase two of the Tangará Reserve project in Mauá, focused on preserving 700,000m² of Mata Atlântica forest that lies inside our site
As part of our global “Let’s Colour” initiative, artist Luna Buschinelli created a 2,500m² artwork at a school in Rio de Janeiro, using 1,000 liters of our Coral paint. It will feature in the next Guinness Book of World Records as the largest mural painted by a woman

in € millions

We continued to perform well in 2017, achieving growth throughout Asia, despite continued higher raw material costs, which had an adverse impact across the region. India was also affected by the lingering effects of demonetization in the first half year, and the mid-year implementation of goods and services tax (GST)
Product launches included Dulux Wood Charm, a water-based woodcare product, and Dulux Aqua Shield, a consumer waterproofing solution which has 60% thicker film and better water beading, enabling it to close cracks and prevent water seepage
In China and North Asia, we relaunched our Levis brand and introduced Dulux Biocare, which is United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) certified and will help boost the sustainable development of China’s eco-friendly residential repainting market
We cooperated with Beijing Western Sunshine Rural Development Foundation to build a kindergarten for the Ruicong School in Langfang, China
An agreement was signed with China National Sports Group and Dow Chemical to launch our first-ever partnership in the sports and education sectors. It involves embedding sustainable development practices into the construction and renovation of sports venues and school buildings across China

in € millions