(Reuters) -Dutch paints and coatings maker Akzo Nobel has set out a plan to save costs and improve supply chain efficiency, after forecasting full-year core earnings towards the lower end of its previous forecast due to lower than expected volumes.

The maker of Dulux and Flexa paints said it would make a 150 million euros ($159 million) investment through 2024-2026 for its cost saving "industrial transformation" plan, aiming for a 250 millions euros benefit by 2027.

Akzo has been recovering from a post-COVID slowdown last year, marked by rising raw material costs and destocking activity in its decorative do-it-yourself segment in Europe.

The Amsterdam-based company said it now targeted around 1.45 billion in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for 2023, at the lower end of its previous guidance between 1.4 and 1.55 billion euros, citing volumes lower than expected.

"Flat (volumes), but better than our peers. It's a reflection of what we see in our competitors," CEO Grégoire Poux-Guillaume said on a press call.

Akzo reported a 46% rise in adjusted EBITDA to 414 million euros ($439 million) in the quarter, above the 412 million expected by analysts in a company-provided consensus.

($1 = 0.9430 euros)

(Reporting by Stéphanie Hamel; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and David Holmes)