Sherwin-Williams profit drops as consumer brands segment weighs
Jan 25 (Reuters) - Paint and coatings maker Sherwin-Williams on Thursday reported a fall in its fourth-quarter profit, hit by lower sales in its consumer brands segment.
Shares of the company were trading 3% lower in premarket trade.
Profit at its Consumer Brands Group unit fell to $3.6 million in the reported quarter, from $35.1 million a year earlier.
The unit, which accounts for 12% of the company's revenue as per 2022 figures, is a division that markets and sells paint and related products to the do-it-yourself (DIY) market.
Profit in this segment decreased primarily due to lower net sales volume and higher foreign currency transaction losses driven primarily by the Argentine devaluation of $30.8 million, the company said.
In December 2023, the government of Argentina implemented a slew of economic reforms, part of which was the devaluation of the Argentine peso.
"Against this backdrop, we expect first quarter 2024 consolidated net sales will be up or down a low-single digit percentage compared to the first quarter of 2023," said CEO Heidi Petz.
The specialty chemical maker's profit fell to $1.39 per share in the quarter ended Dec. 31, from $1.48 per share, a year earlier. (Reporting by Vallari Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
