(ICIS) -- AkzoNobel swung to a net income of ┬162m ($219m) in the fourth quarter of 2010, compared with a loss of ┬60m in the same period a year earlier, on the back of higher demand, the Dutch paints and coatings company said on Thursday.
Revenue in the fourth quarter jumped 17% year on year to ┬3.62bn, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 3% to ┬377m, AkzoNobel said.
Revenue growth was driven by a 6% increase in sales volume across the firm's business areas as demand recovered, particularly in high-growth markets, the company said.
AkzoNobel's decorative paints segment reported an 11% year-on-year increase in fourth quarter revenue to ┬1.14bn, primarily driven by a robust recovery in Asia and Latin America and a positive foreign currency translation effect.
Meanwhile, AkzoNobel said that a broad recovery in demand, combined with the success of its strategic growth platforms, had led to a volume increase across nearly all business lines in its specialty chemicals portfolio, with revenue during the fourth quarter of 2010 growing 19% year on year to ┬1.26bn.