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WITH THE PROGRAMME RESULTS • NOT SURPRISINGLY, UNIVAR HAS POSTED WEAKER RESULTS FOR 2020, BUT IT IS PROGRESSING WITH ITS STRATEGIC PLAN TO IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY AND REDUCE COSTS UNIVAR SOLUTIONS HAS recorded net income of $52.9m for the calendar year 2020, compared to a loss of $100.2m in 2019. Adjusted net income, which gives a better comparison, shows a fall of 8.5 per cent to $211.9m for 2020, while adjusted EBITDA was 9.7 per cent lower at $635.8m. “I am pleased with the progress the team has made against our strategic objectives, meeting the challenges of remote working, variable supply and demand, as well as macroeconomic uncertainties,” says president/ CEO David Jukes. “Our financial results reflect the hard work of our dedicated team members,
relationships, and the benefit of our investment in keeping digital at our core. I am pleased we have made good progress against our Streamline 2022 (S22) goals by executing on non-core divestitures, expanding our supplier network, and moving closer to completing our business systems migration and Nexeo integration.” For the fourth quarter, external sales were 5.5 per cent below the year earlier figure at $2.04bn, while gross profit was down 7.2 per cent at $484.5m and adjusted EBITDA fell 7.8 per cent at $146.4m. That decline was most apparent in Univar’s largest market in
the strength of our supplier and customer
the US, though sales were also off in the Latin America segment. Part of that reflects the former divestiture of the Environmental Sciences business, along with price deflation affecting certain products and ongoing demand weakness in the global industrial end markets.
UNIVAR SOLUTIONS HELD ITS OWN DURING 2020 AS IT CONTINUES TO PREPARE ITSELF FOR A MORE AGILE FUTURE
HCB MONTHLY | MARCH 2021
AROUND THE WORLD Adjusted EBITDA in the USA division fell 11 per cent in the fourth quarter, along with the decline in sales, although this was partially offset by synergies arising from the Nexeo Solutions acquisition, cost reduction efforts and higher demand in certain end markets. The Canada division was also affected by the Environmental Sciences divestiture, as well as overall lower energy demand and price deflation, although it enjoyed higher sales from the wholesale agriculture and industrial chemicals sectors. The Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) division increased external sales by 2.1 per cent in the fourth quarter, though it was 3.0 per cent down on a constant currency basis; adjusted EBITDA fell 5.5 per cent to $29.4m, largely due to falling sales of pharmaceutical finished goods, as had been expected, together with lower industrial end market demand, though Univar reports some benefit arising from the Brexit process. STRATEGY FOR RECOVERY In response to the ongoing uncertain economic environment, Univar says it continues to actively manage its expense base and realise cost reductions in an effort to maintain its financial strength while continuing to serve its suppliers and
