Asian Paints, the paint industry behemoth, reported a remarkable 52% year-on-year increase in its consolidated net profit, reaching ₹1,574.84 crore in the first quarter ended June 2023. In the corresponding quarter last year, the company had achieved a net profit of ₹1,036.03 crore.
During Q1FY24, the company’s consolidated revenue from operations saw a growth of 6.6%, amounting to ₹9,182.31 crore, compared to ₹8,606.94 crore in the same period the previous year.
At the operating level, the consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) witnessed a substantial increase of 28.1% to ₹2,121.2 crore from ₹1,566 crore in the year-ago quarter. Consequently, the EBITDA margin expanded by 500 basis points (bps) to 23.1% from 18.1% year-on-year.
In the international business segment, Asian Paints faced challenges as sales decreased by 1.4% to ₹695.1 crore from ₹705.2 crore due to economic uncertainty, forex crisis, and liquidity issues in key markets of Asia and Africa. However, in constant currency terms, the company reported a sales increase of 3.8%.
On the domestic front, the company’s Decorative business registered double-digit volume growth and relatively healthy value growth, despite the high base of the previous year. Additionally, the industrial business also witnessed growth during the quarter, with APPPG sales rising by 21.6% YoY to ₹294.2 crore, and PPGAP sales increasing by 13.3% YoY to ₹471.9 crore.
However, the shares of Asian Paints closed 4.04% lower at Rs.3,400.40, on NSE, on Tuesday.