Kansai Nerolac Paints (KNPL), the paint company in India, on Friday at the Board meeting announced its unaudited results for the first quarter of financial year 2023-24. For the quarter, the company declared Net revenue of Rs. 2071.2 crore, a growth of 6.5 per cent over the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
The earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) was at Rs. 333.9 crore, a growth of 30.6 per cent over the same quarter of the previous year.
Profit before tax (PBT) before exception item was at Rs 304.6 crore a growth of 39.5 per cent over the same quarter of the previous year. Profit after tax (PAT) after exception item was at Rs 743.8 Crores, a growth of 356.6 % over the same quarter of the previous year.
On 30 June 2023, the Company entered a Deed of Conveyance with Shoden Developers Private Limited, a group company of House of Hiranandani for the sale of its land at Kavesar, Thane for a total consideration of Rs. 671 crore. Accordingly, the profit on the sale of Rs. 661.25 crore has been disclosed as an exceptional item in the current quarter.
Commenting on the results, Anuj Jain, Managing Director, Kansai Nerolac Paints said, “The quarter witnessed good demand for Automotive and Performance Coating. Demand for Decorative paints was healthy. Raw material prices continued to soften. Gross margins improved over the corresponding quarter last year. The company continues to pursue various initiatives in the areas of feet-on-street, digital, influencer outreach, new product launches, approvals and projects.”
Looking forward, growth momentum in Automotive and Performance Coatings will continue. With a favorable monsoon and a longer festival season, Decorative demand is likely to improve closer to the festival season. The proceeds from the land sale will be mainly utilized to support business initiatives, Jain added.
The size of the domestic paint industry is estimated at around Rs. 70, 000 crore as of March 2023. The good growth in infrastructure, core sector as well as automobile and real estate is likely to have a positive effect on the overall demand for paint for the industry in the long run.
