Asian Paints Q2 Results: Revenue Rises 6%, Lower Costs Aid Margin

Asian Paints Ltd. saw demand rise as India eased lockdown curbs, while lower costs aided its margin in the second quarter.

Net profit rose 1% year-on-year to Rs 831 crore in the quarter ended September, according to its exchange filing. That compares with the Rs 679-crore consensus forecast of analysts tracked by Bloomberg.

The company has recommended an interim divided of Rs 3.35 per equity share of face value of Re 1 each.

Asian Paints’ revenue increased 6% over the previous year to Rs 5,350 crore . That’s against an estimated Rs 5,145 crore. Revival in consumer demand following the gradual easing of lockdown restrictions during the quarter aided top line of the company.

Lower crude oil prices and overall cost saving initiatives aided the company’s operating profit and margin. Operating profit rose 32.5% year-on-year to Rs 1,266 crore, while operating margin expanded from 18.9% to 23.7%.

“All the business segments continued to witness improving demand conditions on a progressive basis during the second quarter of this financial year,” Amit Syngle, managing director and chief executive officer, said in a statement. “The decorative business segment registered good volume growths for each of the months and therefore a healthy double-digit volume growth for the quarter with demand picking up across regions.”

“The other business segments in India including the two industrial coatings business and both the segments in the home improvement category also experienced improving trends in line with the phased out re-opening of the economy,” he said.

Other Highlights:

• Raw material cost as percentage of net sales declined 550 bps to 49.5%.
• Other expenses fell 13% year-on-year to Rs 731 crore.
• Base quarter included deferred tax credit of Rs 150 crore owing to shift to new tax regime.

Shares of Asian Paints recovered 1.2% from day’s low to Rs 2,104 at the time the earnings were announced compared with a 0.5 percent fall in the Nifty Index.