PPG announced that aggregate company net sales for July exceeded the company’s original estimate, reflecting a continuation of the solid demand recovery experienced in June. Due to the stronger sales performance in July, the company now expects third-quarter 2020 sales volumes versus the third quarter 2019 to be down 6% to 11%, excluding foreign currency translation, compared to the previously expected year-over-year decrease of 8% to 15%.

Also, the company now expects third-quarter operating margin decrements to be between 10% to 15%, which is better than the approximate 25% experienced in the second quarter of 2020. The better margin decrements are due to strong operating margin leverage from higher than anticipated sales volumes coupled with continued strong cost management.

“Led by improving demand trends in our Chinese and European businesses across a variety of coatings end-use markets and global industrial production, our July sales increased sequentially from June and were down 7% compared to the prior year,” said Michael H. McGarry, PPG chairman and CEO. “Our diverse and global business portfolio is providing benefits from the demand recovery as it happens across different geographies and end-use markets. We remain focused on aggressively managing our costs, including executing the previously communicated restructuring programs, to support strong operating margin leverage as demand continues to improve.”

The company defines operating margins as segment income divided by net sales. The company will provide further details during its third-quarter earnings update in October.