Asian Paints Q3 Results: Net profit falls 23% to Rs 1,128 crore, in line with estimates

Asian Paints on February 4 reported 23% drop in net profit at Rs 1,128 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2024 hit by weak festive season demand. The paint maker reported net profit of Rs 1,475 crore in the year-ago period.

The company’s revenue declined 6% to Rs 8,549 crore in Q3FY25 as against Rs 9,103 crore in Q3FY24. According to a SRK Nation’s poll of 10 brokerages, Asian Paints was likely to report a 3.4% fall in revenue growth on-year Rs 8,797 crore and net profit was likely to fall 22% on-year to Rs 1,131 crore.

On a sequential basis, net profit rose nearly 63 per cent from Rs 693.7 crore reported in the second quarter of FY25.

At 2:15 pm on February 4, Asian Paints shares on BSE were trading nearly 4% higher at Rs 2,378 apiece. The stock lost about 30% since the beginning of October 2024.

In the near term, the firm remains cautiously optimistic, said its managing director and chief executive officer Amit Syngle.

“The paint industry continued to be impacted by subdued demand conditions during the quarter, especially in the urban centers. We registered a 6.6% decline in overall coatings business in India, including Industrial. The domestic decorative business delivered a 1.6% volume growth while the standalone revenues declined by 7.5% for the quarter impacted by the weak festive season demand. While we saw sequential improvement in operating margins, the adverse mix coupled with increased sales and distribution expenses affected operating margins on a year-on-year basis,” Syngle said.

Muted demand conditions coupled with downtrading, and a weak festive season impacted revenue, the company said. Industrial business grew 3.8% on the back of General Industrial and Refinish segments.

Segment results

In international business, sales increased in by 5.0 per cent to Rs 818.0 crores from Rs 779.1 crores on the back of improved macro-economic conditions in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal offset by currency devaluation in Ethiopia and Egypt, the company said. The rise in sales was driven by growth in the Middle East and recovering macro-economic conditions in key Asian markets.

Quartery sales in the home decor category remained robust with sales at Bath Fittings and Kitchen business rising 2.6 per cent and 2.7 per cent respectively. “We continued to see growth in our Home Décor Business progressing on our network expansion journey,” Syngle said.

Meanwhile, Q3 sales at White Teak decreased by 22.8% to Rs 26.0 crores while sales at Weatherseal decreased by 14.1% to Rs 11.8 crores. Decline in sales was driven by weak seasonal demand, according to the company.