PPG Industries (NYSE: PPG), Pittsburgh, PA, reported sales for the first quarter of $3.6 billion, up 17 percent from the previous year. Profit was $277 million, up 45 percent from the first quarter of 2013.
“We achieved year-over-year global volume growth of 5 percent, our highest level in three years,” said Charles Bunch, chairman and CEO. “Additionally, growth rates accelerated in each region versus recent quarters, including in Europe, where our volumes grew 5 percent as we benefited from the early stages of that region’s economic recovery. PPG’s growth was also broad-based across many of our businesses, led by automotive OEM coatings and aerospace, where our performance continued to outpace strong global growth in these end-use markets."
