Akzo Nobel recently announced its second quarter earnings. "Second quarter net results for the company were 2% lower than last year," said Fritz Froehlich, CFO. "Coatings had a top quarter with strong sales and a 15% better operating income. Chemicals was able to equalize last year, a solid performance in difficult business conditions. In these sectors we are clearly beginning to see the results of our aggressive restructuring efforts that began last year. Pharma had a mixed performance. Sales were up 5%, but earnings declined 8%¿During the last few weeks of the quarter in particular we had to deal with the increasing influence of declining key currencies. We are also experiencing a slower than expected pick up of the economy in our most important markets. Based on these recent facts, we now expect a net income for 2002 that is slightly below 2001."

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