Asian Paints announced their financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2024. 

“Demand conditions for the paint industry were tough, impacted by the severe heatwave and general elections in the quarter. We delivered a good volume growth of 7% in the decorative segment aided by some movement in rural markets, however value declined by 3% impacted by the price decrease taken earlier in the year and shift in product mix. Unanticipated material price inflation coupled with supply chain challenges impacted profitability of the Decorative business for the quarter. The Industrial business did relatively better and grew by 5.8% by value backed by good growth in Auto OEM and powder coatings segment. Economy segment saw a good offtake aided by the launch of our revolutionary latex paint NeoBharat, which is part of our focused approach to make further inroads in the ‘bottom of the pyramid’ segment. On the International front, geographies like Ethiopia and Sri Lanka grew well in Q1 on the back of gradual recovery in these economies, however key macroeconomic issues persisted in markets like Nepal, Bangladesh and Egypt impacting the overall performance for the International business. We saw a progressive quarter in Home Décor, with growth in all the categories and a strong growth in our Beautiful Home Stores. In the near term, we expect demand conditions to improve at the back of improving rural sentiment and monsoons picking up gradually. We remain focused on driving growth through enhanced saliency of our brand, innovation and customer centricity,” said Amit Syngle, Managing Director & CEO of Asian Paints Limited.

Key Financial Highlights

 Asian Paints Consolidated Results, Q1 FY'25

• Consolidated Net Sales decreased by 2.3% to ₹ 8,943.2 crores from ₹ 9,153.8 crores.
• PBDIT [Profit before depreciation, interest, tax, other income, and exceptional items] (before share in profit of associates) decreased by 20.2% to ₹ 1,693.8 crores from ₹ 2,121.3 crores.
  PBDIT Margin as % to Net Sales at 18.9% from 23.2% in the corresponding period of the previous year.
• Profit before exceptional items and tax decreased by 23.8% to ₹ 1,603.6 crores from ₹ 2,105.0 crores.Net Profit after minority interest decreased by 24.5% to ₹ 1,170.0 crores from ₹ 1,550.4 crores.

Asian Paints Standalone Results, Q1 FY’25

• Net Sales decreased by 2.9% to ₹ 7,852.5 crores from ₹ 8,084.9 crores.
• PBDIT for the quarter decreased by 20.3% to ₹ 1,593.0 crores from ₹ 1,999.8 crores.
• PBDIT Margin as % to Net Sales at 20.3% from 24.7% in the corresponding period of the previous year.
• Profit before tax decreased by 21.1% to ₹ 1,592.4 crores from ₹ 2,018.2 crores.
• Net Profit decreased by 20.9% to ₹ 1,192.4 crores from ₹ 1,508.4 crores.

Segment Highlights

International Business

Sales decreased by 2.3% to ₹ 679.1 crores from ₹ 695.1 crores on the back of economic uncertainty, forex crisis and liquidity issues in key markets of Asia and Egypt. In constant currency terms, sales increased by 1.8%. PBT before exceptional items was ₹ 6.5 crores as against ₹ 26.5 crores in the corresponding period of previous year.

 Home Decor Business

•  Bath Fittings business: Sales increased by 10.3% to ₹ 93.4 crores from ₹ 84.7 crores. PBDIT loss was ₹ 1.4 crores against loss of ₹ 0.8 crores in the corresponding period of the previous year.
•  Kitchen business: Sales increased by 4.6% to ₹ 100.4 crores from ₹ 96.0 crores. PBDIT was ₹ 0.9 crores as against profit of ₹ 0.7 crores in the corresponding period of previous year.
•  White Teak and Weatherseal: Sales at White Teak increased by 14.3% to 29.7 crores from ₹ 26.0 crores. Sales at Weatherseal increased by 17.6% to ₹ 11.5 crores from ₹ 9.8 crores. Both these recent acquisitions are gaining from synergies with the Asian Paints network.

Industrial Business

•  APPPG: Sales were flat at ₹ 293.2 crores from ₹ 294.2 crores. PBT was ₹ 29.8 crores as against ₹39.2 crores in the corresponding period of previous year.
•  PPGAP: Sales increased by 9.6% to ₹ 517.1 crores from ₹ 471.9 crores. PBT was ₹ 99.2 crores as against ₹ 82.0 crores in the corresponding period of previous year.

 The employee benefits expense for the quarter ended 30^th June 2023, included reversal of ₹ 38.9 crores in standalone books and ₹ 40.7 crores in consolidated books consequent to the revision in the sick leave policy for certain classes of employees. In addition, installed capacity at the Mysuru plant has increased from 300,000 KL p.a. to 600,000 KL p.a.