Asian Paints Profit Rises For Second Straight Quarter
Asian Paints’ decorative paints business saw single digit volume growth for yet another quarter.
Asian Paints Ltd.’s net profit rose for the second straight quarter matching analyst estimates.
The paintmaker’s bottom line increased 19 percent year-on-year to Rs 554.6 crore during the quarter-ended December, according to its exchange notification. That compares with Rs 567 crore that analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had projected. Revenue rose 10.5 percent on a yearly basis to Rs 4,270 crore over the same period, missing analyst estimates of Rs 4,553 crore.
The decorative paints business saw single-digit volume growth for the second straight quarter, Asian Paints said in a press release accompanying the earnings filing. The segment was hit by the transition to the Goods and Services Tax through July and a recovery of sorts was seen only in September, the paintmaker had said last quarter.
Revenue from the paint business fell 0.5 percent to Rs 4,183 crore as compared to the same period last year, while the home improvement business revenue increased 21.4 percent to Rs 85 crore in the same period.
“In the international markets, units in Bangladesh, Oman, Bahrain and Nepal witnessed good growth. However, the international group performance was impacted by adverse exchange rate fluctuation in some key markets,” said, KBS Anand, Managing Director and CEO, Asian Paints.
The operational performance was also in line with Bloomberg consensus estimates. The operating income or the earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 18 percent to Rs 891.5 crore from the same quarter last year. The operating margin expanded to 20.9 percent from 19.6 percent. Cost of raw materials increased 12.4 percent on an yearly basis to Rs 1,736 crore.
Shares of Asian Paints closed 1.2 percent lower at Rs 1,176 apiece ahead of the results announcement. The stock trades at 56 times trailing 12-month earnings per share and 53 times its estimates for the coming year. The scrip rose 2.4 percent during the last quarter, compared to an 8.9 percent advance in the benchmark Sensex.