Feb 17 (Reuters) - AKZO NOBEL NV AKZO.AS :
* AKZONOBEL DELIVERS 15 BY 20 PROMISE AND CONTINUES STRONG MOMENTUM IN Q4, WITH 6% REVENUE GROWTH IN COMPARABLE CURRENCIES
* Q4 STRONG GROWTH IN VOLUMES OF 6%; SECOND CONSECUTIVE QUARTER OF VOLUME GROWTH
* FINAL DIVIDEND PROPOSED OF EUR 1.52 (2019: EUR 1.49) PER SHARE
* Q4 ROS EXCLUDING UNALLOCATED COST INCREASED TO 15.3% (2019: 11.0%) DUE TO STRONG MARGIN MANAGEMENT AND COST SAVINGS
* Q4 ACQUISITIONS OF TITAN PAINTS IN SPAIN ANNOUNCED AND NEW NAUTICAL COATINGS COMPLETED IN Q4 2020
* FY NET CASH FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED TO EUR 1,220 MILLION
* COMPANY TARGETS A LEVERAGE RATIO OF 1-2 TIMES NET DEBT/EBITDA AND COMMITS TO RETAIN A STRONG INVESTMENT GRADE CREDIT RATING
* FY ROI EXCLUDING UNALLOCATED COST UP AT 20.6%, EXCEEDING OUR 2020 AMBITION
* ALTHOUGH TRENDS DIFFER PER REGION AND SEGMENT WITH RAW MATERIAL INFLATION EXPECTED, MARGIN MANAGEMENT AND COST-SAVING PROGRAMS ARE IN PLACE TO DELIVER 50 BASIS POINTS INCREASE IN RETURN ON SALES
* FY 15.0% ROS EXCLUDING UNALLOCATED COST, DELIVERING ON OUR 15 BY 20 PROMISE
* FY EUR 243 MILLION OF COST SAVINGS, OF WHICH EUR 115 MILLION STRUCTURAL SAVINGS
* Q4 REVENUE EUR 2.21 BILLION VERSUS EUR 2.24 BILLION YEAR AGO
* Q4 ADJUSTED OPERATING INCOME EUR 294 MILLION VERSUS EUR 223 MILLION YEAR AGO
* COVID: THE OVERALL IMPACT ON AKZONOBEL FOR THE FULL-YEAR 2020 WAS LIMITED
* COVID: OVERALL POSITIVE IMPACT WAS NOTED FOR DECORATIVE PAINTS SEGMENT, THERE WAS AN OVERALL ADVERSE IMPACT IN PERFORMANCE COATINGS SEGMENT
* COVID: IN OUR 2020 FIGURES, ALL COVID-19 RELATED IMPACTS HAVE BEEN TREATED AS NORMAL OPERATIONS
* AKZONOBEL WILL LAUNCH ITS NEXT REGIONAL STARTUP CHALLENGE IN CHINA IN MARCH 2021