Asian Paints on Wednesday reported a 34.46 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 1,475.16 crore in the third quarter ended December 2023, helped by softening of raw material prices and better efficiencies.

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The company had logged a net profit of Rs 1,097.06 crore during the October-December period a year ago, according to a regulatory filing by Asian Paints.

Its revenue from operations went up 5.4 per cent to Rs 9,103.09 crore during the quarter. In the year-ago period, it stood at Rs 8,636.74 crore.

The company has witnessed "soft raw material environment and work on sourcing, formulation efficiencies driving margins" which helped in "improvement in gross margins by about 510 basis points in Q3 FY'24 as compared to Q3 FY'23," said an earnings statement from Asian Paints.

Its PBDIT (profit before depreciation, interest, tax, other income, and exceptional items) increased by 27.6 per cent to Rs 2,056.1 crore from Rs 1,611.4 crore, it added.

The company's consolidated PBDIT margin during the third quarter of FY24 "increased by 400 bps to 22.7 per cent", it added.

Asian Paints' total expenses were marginally up at Rs 7,321.77 crore in the December quarter.

Its total income, which includes revenue from other sources, stood at Rs 9,241.67 crore during the December quarter, up 5.94 per cent.

"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 OEM and general industrial coating businesses achieved sturdy revenue growth and good profit margins," said Asian Paints Director & CEO Amit Syngle.

During the quarter, Asain Paints' revenue from international business was flat at Rs 779.1 crore on the back of macro-economic headwinds and inflation in key markets of South Asia and Egypt.

"Our international business saw growth in the Middle East and Africa and registered increased profitability overall. It, however, continued to remain constrained by macroeconomic headwinds, inflationary pressures in key geographies of South Asia and Egypt," he said.

It reported double-digit revenue growth in the industrial business.

Sales of Asian Paints in APPPG (Asian Paints PPG Pvt Ltd) increased by 10.1 per cent to Rs 288 crore in December quarter from Rs 261.6 crore a year ago.

APPPG, which operates in the field of protective, performance & powder coatings, is a 50:50 joint venture between Asian Paints Ltd and US-based PPG Industries Inc.

While revenue from PPGAP (PPG Asian Paints Pvt Ltd) sales increased by 12.3 per cent to Rs 576.2 crore in December FY24 from Rs 513.3 crore a year ago. Its profit before taxes was at Rs 128.0 crore in Q3 FY24 as against Rs 91.4 crore in the corresponding period of previous year.

PPGAP, a 50:50 joint venture between PPG Inc of USA and Asian Paints, is a leading supplier of paints and coatings in diverse markets such as automotive OEM, automotive refinishes, industrial, marine and packaging.

Meanwhile, in a separate filing, Asian Paints said its board has approved the reappointment of Palavi Shroff as an independent director on the Board of Directors of the company for a second term of two years, effective April 1, 2024.

Shares of Asian Paints on Wednesday settled at Rs 3,242.30 apiece on BSE, down 1.67 per cent from the previous close.

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