Asian Paints Q1 Results: Net profit drops 24% to ₹1,170 crore, decorative biz volume up 7%; Revenue down 2.3% YoY

Asian Paints Q1 Results: Asian Paints announced its April-June quarter results for fiscal 2024-25 (Q1FY25) on Wednesday, July 17, reporting a drop of 24.6 per cent in consolidated net profit at ₹1,170 crore, compared to ₹1,383 crore in the corresponding period last year.

The leading paint and decor company's total revenue from operations in the first quarter of current fiscal dropped 2.3 per cent to ₹8,943 crore, compared to ₹9,154 crore in the year ago period. The revenue was affected on account of price cuts implemented in the previous quarter and a shift in mix. 

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Asian Paints Q1 Results - Key Metrics

The domestic decorative business volume went up by seven per cent, while revenue dropped three per cent. The total expenses were higher at ₹7,559.04 crore, up from 7,305.09 crore in the corresponding period of the last fiscal.

Segment Highlights:

-International business: Sales decreased by 2.3 per cent to ₹679.1 crore from ₹695.1 crore 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 per cent. PBT before exceptional items was ₹6.5 crore compared to ₹26.5 crore in the corresponding period of previous year.

b. Home Décor business:

i. Bath Fittings business: Sales increased by 10.3 per cent to ₹93.4 crore from ₹84.7 crore. PBDIT loss was ₹1.4 crore against loss of ₹0.8 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.

ii. Kitchen business: Sales increased by 4.6 per cent to ₹100.4 crore from ₹ 96.0 crore. PBDIT was ₹0.9 crore as against profit of ₹0.7 crore in the corresponding period of previous year.

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iii. White Teak and Weatherseal: Sales at White Teak increased by 14.3 per cent to ₹29.7 crore from ₹26.0 crore. Sales at Weatherseal increased by 17.6 per cent to ₹11.5 crore from ₹9.8 crore. Both these recent acquisitions are gaining from synergies with the Asian Paints network.

"Demand conditions for the paint industry were tough, impacted by the severe heatwave and general elections in the quarter," said Amit Syngle, Managing Director & CEO, Asian Paints Ltd.

‘’Despite delivering a good volume growth of seven per cent in the decorative segment, aided by some movement in rural markets, the company's value declined 3 per cent due to the price decrease taken earlier in the year and shift in product mix, he added.

Unanticipated material price inflation coupled with supply chain challenges impacted profitability of the decorative business for the quarter, Syngle said, adding that the industrial business did relatively better and grew 5.8 per cent by value on the back of good growth in the auto OEM and powder coatings segment.

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On the international front, he said geographies like Ethiopia and Sri Lanka grew well in the first quarter because of gradual recovery in these economies. However, key macroeconomic issues persisted in markets like Nepal, Bangladesh, and Egypt, impacting the overall performance for international business.

On the outlook, Syngle said, "In the near term, we expect demand conditions to improve on the back of improving rural sentiment and monsoon picking up gradually. We remain focused on driving growth through enhanced saliency of our brand, innovation and customer centricity."

The turnover of the leading paint manufacturer stands at ₹35,382 crore. On Wednesday, shares of Asian Paints settled 0.61 per cent higher at ₹2,974.40 apiece on the BSE.