January 21, 2025 – Global Adhesive Giant HB Fuller Unveils 2024 Financial Results and Major Restructuring Plan
HB Fuller, a leading player in the global adhesive industry, has recently released its financial results for fiscal year 2024, announcing a significant restructuring plan that involves shutting down nearly one-third of its factories worldwide and drastically reducing the number of warehouses in North America.
In terms of financial performance, HB Fuller reported a net revenue of USD 3.57 billion (approximately RMB 26.1 billion), marking a 1.6% year-on-year increase. However, organic revenue declined by 1.0% due to unfavorable pricing strategies. Despite this, the company’s adjusted EBITDA reached USD 594 million, up 2.2% from the previous year, with an adjusted EBITDA margin expanding to 16.6%.
In the fourth quarter, HB Fuller generated a net revenue of USD 923 million, representing a 2.3% year-on-year growth. Regrettably, the company incurred a net loss of USD 7 million, which included a non-cash after-tax charge of USD 38 million related to the divestiture of its flooring business. Celeste Mastin, President, and CEO of HB Fuller, stated, “While we are proud of the overall progress made in fiscal year 2024, our fourth-quarter performance was not as strong as expected. We experienced an unexpected slowdown in sales volumes across most end markets, and delays in customer ordering patterns postponed the realization of price increases until fiscal year 2025. This, in turn, deferred the offset of raw material cost increases, impacting our profit margins.”
According to AsiaMB, HB Fuller plans to complete the factory closure plan by fiscal year 2030, reducing its global factory count from 82 to 55. Additionally, by the end of 2027, the number of warehouses in North America will be scaled down from 55 to 10. This restructuring plan is expected to help HB Fuller reduce annual pre-tax costs by USD 75 million, while the implementation is projected to cost USD 150 million over the next five years. Celeste Mastin commented, “Our manufacturing footprint consolidation and planning and logistics reorganization are crucial steps in achieving our strategic plan of sustaining EBITDA margins above 20%. These initiatives will not only lower costs by increasing capacity utilization but also enhance our ability to serve customers and reduce future capital expenditure needs.”
As a leading company in the adhesive industry, HB Fuller’s raw materials include tackifying resins, polymers, synthetic rubbers, plasticizers, and vinyl acetate monomer (VAM), among others. This restructuring plan will undoubtedly have a profound impact on the future development of HB Fuller.