PPG Industries Inc. (PPG) and Pleotint, LLC, recently announced an agreement to jointly market a thermochromic glass system that darkens in direct sunlight. The product will combine Pleotint's Sunlight Responsive Thermochromic or SRT interlayer technology with Solarban low-E glass and other glasses by PPG to control solar heat gain and reduce energy costs in buildings.
Laminated between two lites of glass, SRT interlayer may be used monolithically or within an insulating glass unit. Pleotint’s lightly tinted thermochromic interlayer warms up and darkens in direct sunlight, but clears in indirect sunlight to allow light to pass into a building, decreasing the need for artificial lighting, officials explain. Visible light transmittance for windows with SRT interlayer adjusts through the day without the need for wiring, power supplies or controls. As the windows clear up in indirect sunlight, they also decrease the need for artificial lighting.
According to a study, SRT interlayer can reduce energy costs in commercial buildings by 17% to 30% over industry-standard window systems. The SRT technology also reduces the transmittance of ultraviolet light and short-wavelength visible light, which contribute to fading in carpets, fabrics, artwork, photos and other materials.
On July 21, 2011, PPG announced its second-quarter 2011 results. Net income was $340 million or $2.12 per share compared with $272 million or $1.63 per share in the year-ago quarter. The results were at par with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
Net sales in the quarter were $4.0 billion, up 15% from $3.5 billion in the second quarter of 2010. It also outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.8 billion. The improvement was attributed to demand improvements, higher pricing in each of its coatings businesses, successful cost reduction initiatives and a gradual industrial recovery worldwide, partly offset by rising raw material costs.
PPG Industries had cash and cash equivalents worth $982 million as of June 30, 2011 compared with $784 million as of June 30, 2010. Total debt was $3.61 billion as of June 30, 2011 compared with $3.02 billion as of June 30, 2010. Inventories at the end of the quarter amounted to $1.82 billion versus $1.54 billion as of June 30, 2010.
PPG Industries has a short-team Zacks #2 Rank (Buy). Currently, we hold a long-term Neutral recommendation on the stock.
PPG faces stiff competition from the DuPont Performance Coatings segment of EI DuPont de Nemours & Co. (DD) and BASF Coatings AG.
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