PPG Industries Increases Precipitated Silica Product Prices

On December 19, 2017, PPG Industries (PPG) announced that it’s increasing the prices of sodium silicate and all precipitated silica by up to 6%, effective on January 1, 2018, or as contracts allow. PPG cited the increase in raw material prices as the primary reason behind the price increases of these products.

The impact of the price increase could help to improve PPG’s revenue, assuming that there is no decrease in the volumes.

Bill Fish, PPG Industries’ commercial director of silica products, said, “Unfortunately, our costs can no longer be offset solely by ongoing productivity improvements and cost-saving initiatives. The silica segments are forecasted to have healthy growth for the foreseeable future. This price increase enables us to further invest in our operations to meet increasing customer demand while continuing to be an industry leader in silica product innovation.”

PPG Industries stock gained 1.0% and closed at $116.19 as of December 22, 2017. PPG traded 4.6% above the 100-day moving average price of $111.07, indicating an upward trend in the stock. On a year-to-date basis, the stock has gained 22.6%. PPG peers Sherwin-Williams (SHW) and Axalta (AXTA) rose 53.7% and 17.6%, respectively, while RPM International (RPM) fell 3.1%.

PPG underperformed the Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLB), which rose 2.1% for the week. The fund has invested 4.5% of its portfolio in PPG Industries as of December 17, 2017.