Asian Paints Q1 profit jumps 80%; revenue rises 55%

Asian Paints on Tuesday reported an 80% year-on-year growth in its consolidated net profit to ₹1,036 crore in the first quarter, compared with ₹574 crore in the corresponding period last year.

Revenue of the paint maker surged 55% year-on-year to ₹8,607 crore in the April-June period compared with ₹5,585 crore in the same quarter last year.

"The domestic decorative business experienced good consumer demand and recorded stellar revenue growth for the quarter. The volume growth registered in the quarter is one of the highest in the last six quarters," Amit Syngle, managing director and CEO of Asian Paints, says in a statement.

The business also registered robust four-year compounded growth in volume and value terms, he adds.

In Q1 FY22, the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic had disrupted several business due to restrictions on movement of people.

"We continued to make further inroads in our home décor business, proliferating its product and service offerings... While the persistent inflationary environment continued to impact the gross margins, we delivered healthy operating margins with strong push on the premium and luxury offerings and driving further operational efficiencies across businesses," says Syngle.

The paint manufacturer said its international business also "delivered a good double-digit revenue growth for the quarter" despite multiple headwinds across key geographies.

On a standalone basis, revenue for the quarter under review jumped 59.6% to ₹7,555.80 crore. Standalone net profit rose 70.7% to ₹1,017.28 crore in the first quarter.

Sales for its bath fittings business increased by 120.1% to ₹117.99 crore from ₹53.61 crore in the corresponding period of previous year. Sales for its kitchen business rose by 68.3% to ₹109 crore from ₹64.79 crore in the year-ago quarter.

Further, the company says that the economic crisis in Sri Lanka led to currency devaluation resulting in recognition of an exceptional item of ₹24.21 crore towards exchange loss arising on foreign currency obligations of Causeway Paints Lanka (Pvt.) Limited for the quarter ended June 30, 2022.

Shares of the company closed marginally higher at ₹3,108 on the National Stock Exchange on Tuesday.