BENGALURU (Reuters) -India’s top paintmaker Asian Paints reported a larger-than-expected rise in third-quarter profit on Wednesday, helped by strong sales in its mainstay decorative business.
Consolidated net profit rose about 35% to 14.48 billion rupees ($174.15 million) in the quarter ended Dec. 31, it said in a filing, surpassing analysts’ expectations of 14.04 billion rupees on an average, as per LSEG data.
A 12% volume growth in the decorative segment, which accounts for about 80% of Asian Paints’ topline, helped revenue to rise more than 5% to 90.75 billion rupees.
“Growth was supported by the extended festive season, though we saw some moderation in demand in the latter part of the quarter,” CEO and Managing Director Amit Syngle said in a statement.
India’s festive season, when consumers typically make big-ticket purchases, began late October in 2023.
Asian Paints’ input costs remained flat in the December quarter despite easing crude prices. Crude accounts for about one-third of input costs for paint companies.
Shares of the company remained largely unchanged after the results but have fallen about 5% so far this year.
The Mumbai-based company’s international sales remained flat on the back of macroeconomic challenges and inflation in the key markets of South Asia and Egypt, it said.
Asian Paints is the first among its peers Berger Paints India, Kansai Nerolac Paints, and Indigo Paints to report results.
Shares of all paint companies, except Kansai, which is up 2%, have fallen this year.
($1 = 83.1457 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)