Finance

PPG's Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is currently Vince Morales. Morales is also a Senior Vice President of PPG. He was appointed to the position of CFO in March 2017, replacing Frank S. Sklarsky. Morales started as an Accounting Associate in the Corporate Controllers Office of PPG in 1985. His responsibilities as CFO include managing the financial actions of PPG;

managing the finance and accounting divisions; and assisting the CEO with forecasting, cost-benefit analysis, and obtaining funding. As CFO, Morales is also responsible for presenting accurate and timely financial information to stakeholders.

Financial Health

PPG's net sales have increased recently primarily due to higher sales volumes and acquisition-related sales. PPG finalized the sale of its fiberglass operations in 2017, which netted several billion dollars. Their net sales for 2017 reached $14.8 billion, which was up more than 3% from 2016. PPG will benefit from the decreased corporate tax rate under GOP tax bill. However, the cost inflation of raw materials poses a threat to the financial health of PPG. During 2016 and 2017, PPG had to pay out, move, remeasure, and settle several billions of dollars in pension payments. Despite this large cost, according to PPG’s 2017 Annual Report, “During the past three years, PPG has had sufficient financial resources to meet its operating requirements, to fund our capital spending, including acquisitions, share repurchases and pension plans and to pay increasing dividends to shareholders.” Also in that report, PPG reported $5.87 adjusted earnings per diluted share from continuing operations, "representing an increase of nearly 4 percent year-over-year." As such, PPG is fairly financially healthy.

Factors that Could Affect Stock Prices

As mentioned above, changes in prices and declines in the availability of raw materials could negatively impact financial results. Business disruptions could have a negative impact on results of operations, such as the shutdown of oil refineries after Hurricane Irma, as petroleum is needed for paints and coatings. The privatized space race could increase demand for performance coatings, which would strongly benefit PPG as 59% of their sales come from performance coatings. Fierce competition and failed acquisition negotiations with Akzo Nobel make for a hostile market.

Stock Prices