Kansai Nerolac Paints net profit falls 13% to Rs 108.97 cr in Dec quarter

Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd on Friday reported a 13 per cent decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 108.97 crore in the December quarter, impacted by higher expenses.

The company had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 125.32 crore in the year-ago period, it said in a regulatory filing.

Consolidated revenue from operations during the quarter under review stood at Rs 1,826.81 crore as against Rs 1,810.35 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal, it added.

Total expenses were higher at Rs 1,684.74 crore as compared to Rs 1,648.39 crore in the same quarter last year.

"The quarter witnessed good demand in automotive coatings. Demand in decorative was impacted on account of early Diwali, extended monsoons and higher than normal channel stocking due to price increases during October 21 and November 21," Kansai Nerolac Paints Managing Director Anuj Jain said.

Raw material prices showed a decline during the quarter, which continued to witness a high exchange volatility with the rupee sharply depreciating further, he added.

Jain said the company was able to conclude the price increases with all its key OEMs during the reported quarter which will help partly offset the high inflation witnessed over the last two years.

Looking forward, he said, "It is expected that demand would remain healthy in the short to medium term."

Kansai Nerolac Paints said the size of the domestic paint industry is estimated at around Rs 60,000 crore as of March 2022. 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 of paint for the industry in the long run.