Arkema Earnings: EBITDA Consensus Beat and Margin-Dilutive Dow Adhesives Acquisition

No moat Arkema reported first-quarter 2024 EBITDA of EUR 350 million, down 4.6% compared with last year but slightly ahead of the EUR 341 million company-compiled consensus. Sales were down 7.3%, almost entirely driven by a negative pricing effect, reflecting continuing adverse market conditions in upstream acrylics and polyvinylidene fluoride, or PVDF, as well as lower raw material prices. The performance was aligned with management’s expectations communicated at the end of February, and Arkema confirmed the full-year EBITDA guidance in the range of EUR 1.5 billion to EUR 1.7 billion.