AkzoNobel beats consensus, but Brexit and forex a worry

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch chemicals company AkzoNobel (AKZO.AS) beat analysts' second-quarter earnings forecast on Tuesday, but warned the currency volatility and deflationary pressures that overshadowed the results were set to continue.

Shares in the maker of Dulux paints slipped 2.5 percent in early trading, after CEO Ton Buechner warned in a telephone briefing that a possible slowdown in Britain's house-building industry following its decision to leave the European Union might hit demand at the firm's decorative paints business.

AkzoNobel, heir to the bulk of former UK industrial giant ICI, said after the "Brexit" vote it would continue investing in Britain, but Buechner urged politicians to clarify the country's future relationship with the EU as soon as possible.

"We have as businessmen a belief that clarity helps business overall, whatever the clarity is," he said. Currency volatility would continue to weigh, with the pound only one of several currencies that were responding to geopolitical uncertainty.

The company made earnings before income and tax of 491 million euros (411.00 million pounds), ahead of the 463.4 million euros forecast by analysts, off revenues of 3.9 billion euros, which was also ahead of the 3.8 billion consensus forecast.

Shares in the company were down 2.55 percent at 57.99 euros at 0723 GMT.

(Reporting by Thomas Escritt; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Mark Potter)