PBDIT [profit before depreciation, interest, tax, other income, and exceptional items] (before share in profit of associates) decreased by 20.2% year on year (YoY) to Rs 1,693.8 crore in Q1 FY25.

PBDIT margin declined to 18.9% in the June quarter as compared to 23.2% registered in Q1 FY24.

Profit before tax dropped 23.82% YoY to Rs 1603.62 crore in the quarter ended 30 June 2024.

International business sales declined 2.3% YoY to Rs 679.1 crore in Q1 FY25, on the back of economic uncertainty, forex crisis and liquidity issues in key markets of Asia and Egypt. In constant currency terms, sales increased by 1.8%.

PBT before exceptional items slumped 75.47% to Rs 6.5 crore in Q1 FY25 as against Rs 26.5 crore reported in Q1 FY24.

During the period under review, Bath Fittings business sales were at Rs 93.4 crore (up 10.3% YoY) while Kitchen business sales stood at Rs 100.4 crore (up 4.6% YoY).

Sales at White Teak grew by 14.3% YoY to Rs 29.7 crore in Q1 FY25 and sales at Weatherseal increased by 17.6% to Rs 11.5 crore in Q1 FY25. Both these recent acquisitions are gaining from synergies with the Asian Paints network, said the firm.

Industrial business (Asian Paints PPG) sales were flat at Rs 293.2 crore in Q1 FY25 from Rs 294.2 crores recoreded in Q1 FY24. PBT was Rs 29.8 crore as against Rs 39.2 crore in the corresponding period of previous year.

The company said that an installed capacity at the Mysuru plant has increased from 300,000 KL p.a. to 600,000 KL p.a.

Amit Syngle, managing director & CEO of Asian Paints, said, “Demand conditions for the paint industry were tough, impacted by the severe heatwave and general elections in the quarter. We delivered a good volume growth of 7% in the decorative segment aided by some movement in rural markets, however value declined by 3% impacted by the price decrease taken earlier in the year and shift in product mix.

Unanticipated material price inflation coupled with supply chain challenges impacted profitability of the Decorative business for the quarter. The Industrial business did relatively better and grew by 5.8% by value backed by good growth in Auto OEM and powder coatings segment. Economy segment saw a good offtake aided by the launch of our revolutionary latex paint NeoBharat, which is part of our focused approach to make further inroads in the ‘bottom of the pyramid’ segment.

On the International front, geographies like Ethiopia and Sri Lanka grew well in Q1 on the back of gradual recovery in these economies, however key macroeconomic issues persisted in markets like Nepal, Bangladesh and Egypt impacting the overall performance for the International business. We saw a progressive quarter in Home Décor, with growth in all the categories and a strong growth in our beautiful home stores.

In the near term, we expect demand conditions to improve at the back of improving rural sentiment and monsoons picking up gradually. We remain focused on driving growth through enhanced saliency of our brand, innovation and customer centricity.”

Asian Paints is India's leading paint company and ranked among the top ten decorative coatings companies in the world. Asian Paints is engaged in the business of manufacturing, selling and distribution of paints, coatings, products related to home décor, bath fittings and providing related services.