MALMO, Sweden—Hexpol A.B. has posted a decline in full-year sales and adjusted earnings (adjusted EBITDA) for 2024, citing lower demand and higher costs.
Adjusted earnings for the 12-month period were down 10.5 percent year-on-year at $306.1 million, on 7.3-percent lower sales of nearly $2 billion, Hexpol reported Jan. 28.
Hexpol linked the dip in sales to a $8.6 million exchange-rate impact, partially offset by a 1-percent gain from its acquisitions of Star Thermoplastics and Piedmont earlier in the year.
Full-year sales at the Swedish group's Compounding business areas amounted to $1.7 billion, down 8 percent year-on-year.
Here, Hexpol said sales to automotive-related customers were affected by lower production rates within the automotive industry.
In the second half of the year, Hexpol said it increased sales to customers within the building and construction sector.
Compared to 2023, prices decreased, driven by lower raw material costs, though pricing remained stable in the final quarter of the year.
At Hexpol Engineered Products, sales increased by 3 percent during the year to $135.1 million, with operations in Europe and Asia "developing positively during the period."
Regionally, Hexpol group sales increased in Asia by 5 percent year-on-year, while in America, revenue dropped 10 percent, due in part to early Christmas holidays.
In Europe, the rubber compounds group reported a 5-percent year-on-year sales decline in 2024.
Commenting on the full-year performance, President and CEO Klas Dahlberg said Hexpol was continuously assessing its production efficiency and cost level.
To improve efficiency, the group has announced plans to close operations in Kennedale, Texas, and move production to other Hexpol sites in the U.S. Hexpol also sold a smaller business in Muscle Shoals, Ala., which supplied products outside of the group's core business areas.
Work is currently "underway to review the conditions for organic growth in our various markets," Dahlberg said. "We maintain our focus on acquisitions and view the market positively."