Asian Paints Q2 net profit slumps 29% on surge in input costs; shares slip

Asian Paints Ltd on Thursday reported a steep decline in its consolidated net profit for the second quarter through September, dragged down by a big jump in its input costs.

Consolidated net profit for the July-September period decreased 29% to Rs 605.17 crore from Rs 851.90 crore in the corresponding period last year, India’s biggest paints company said.

Consolidated revenue from operations increased 32.6% to Rs 7,096.01 crore from Rs 5,350.23 crore a year earlier.

Profit was hurt by higher expenses, with the cost of materials consumed soaring 73% during the quarter to Rs 4,570 crore.

The sharp drop in quarterly profit prompted investors to dump the company’s shares. Its stock fell 5.4% to Rs 2,998 apiece on the BSE, where the benchmark Sensex was down 1% in afternoon trade.

Asian Paints Q2: Other key highlights

1) Q2 profit before depreciation, interest, tax and other income (PBDIT) decreased 28.5% to Rs 904.45 crore.

2) Q2 profit before tax decreased 27.9% to Rs 826.24 crore from Rs 1,145.52 crore.

3) Standalone revenue from operations for Q2 increased 35.9% while standalone net profit dropped 22%.

4) Total consolidated expenses jumped to Rs 6,418 crore from Rs 4,299 crore a year earlier.

5) For the six months ended September 30, consolidated revenue increased 53.3% to Rs 12,681.37 crore.

6) Consolidated net profit for the April-September period rose 10% to Rs 1,179 crore.

Asian Paints management commentary

Amit Syngle, Managing Director and CEO of Asian Paints, said steep inflation in raw material prices since the beginning of 2021 impacted gross margins across all businesses during the quarter.

“We have taken a series of price increases and would look at further price increase to mitigate the impact of this persistently high inflation and are confident that we should be able to turn this around strongly in the coming quarter,” he said.

Syngle also said that the domestic decorative business continued to move ahead on its high growth trajectory with a 34% volume growth in the quarter and strong compound growth rates over the last two years. The industrial coatings business registered strong double-digit revenue growth led by robust demand for protective coatings and uptick in the automotive sector. The home improvement business registered its highest quarterly revenue.

Performance in the international business was a mixed bag, Syngle said. While South Asian markets recorded good growth, markets in Middle East and Africa were sluggish with challenges around Covid-19 and forex availability, he added.