Asian Paints Ltd on January 17 released its quarterly results for the three months ending December 31, 2023. The company posted Rs 1,475.16 crore in the consolidated bottom line, 34.4 percent higher than Rs 1,097.06 crore a year ago.
The multinational paint company saw an uptick of 5.4 percent year-on-year (YoY) in its consolidated topline at Rs 9,104 crore in the December quarter. It was Rs 8,636.7 crore in the year-ago period.
Operating profit also glittered the P&L. The earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) were clocked at Rs 2,056 crore, up from Rs 1,611.4 crore in the year-ago quarter.
The EBITDA margin was 22.6 percent, higher than 18.7 percent in the year-ago period.
The decorative business expanded in luxury and economy segments, registering 12 percent volume growth and 5.5 percent value growth.
The business of decorative and industrial coatings combined had a value growth of 6.1 percent in the December quarter.
“Growth was supported by the extended festive season, though we saw some moderation in demand in the latter part of the quarter. Both our Auto OE and General Industrial coating businesses achieved sturdy revenue growths and good profit margins,” said Amit Syngle, Managing Director & CEO.
“We saw a better quarter in the Home Décor space, with new categories making headway, as we made good progress on integrating our offerings within our beautiful homes stores and network. Our margins gained significantly from growth in luxury products and softening raw material prices coupled with operational, formulation, and sourcing efficiencies in Q3,” he added.
In the December concluding quarter, Asian Paints’ international business sales clocked a muted growth at Rs 779.1 crore against Rs 778.8 crore due to macroeconomic headwinds and inflation in essential markets in South Asia and Egypt.
The Profit Before Tax, before exceptional items for the third quarter, was Rs 58.3 crore, substantially up from Rs 37 crore in the corresponding year.
The company’s bath fitting business had a lackluster performance, dropping 5 percent in sales from Rs 85.4 crores to Rs 89.8 crores. It was due to tepid industry demand.
The kitchen business clocked flat sales Q3 FY ’24 at Rs 100.1 crores from Rs 100.7 crores a year ago.
Contrarily, White Teak’s sales in the December quarter grew 18.3 percent yoy at Rs 33.7 crores, and Weatherseal witnessed a double growth at Rs 13.7 crores.
Moreover, brownfield expansions at both — Khandala and Kasna finished, bolstering production capacity from 300,000 KL p.a. to 400,000 KL p.a. and from 80,000 KL p.a. to 100,000 KL p.a., respectively.