Decorative Business (India) registered volume growth of 7% with a revenue decline of 3%.

Asian Paints announced its financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2024.

For 1Q FY’2024, Asian Paints’ consolidated net sales decreased by 2.3% to ？8,943 crores ($1.07 billion) from ？9,153.8 crores. PBDIT [profit before depreciation, interest, tax, other income, and exceptional items] (before share in profit of associates) decreased by 20.2% to ？1,693.8 crores ($200 million) from ？2,121.3 crores..

“Demand conditions for the paint industry were tough, impacted by the severe heatwave and general elections in the quarter year,” said Amit Syngle, managing director and CEO of Asian Paints Limited. “We delivered a good volume growth of 7% in the decorative segment aided by some movement in the rural market; 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 De？cor, with growth in all the categories and a strong growth in our Beautiful Home Stores,” added Syngle.

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,” concluded Syngle.

Decorative Business (India) registered volume growth of 7% with a revenue decline of 3%, as subdued demand environment due to factors like the general elections and severe heat waves impacted consumption. Revenue was also affected on accountof price cuts implemented in previous quarter and a shift in mix. Home De？cor business continued to see gains from synergies with Asian Paints’ Beautiful Homes stores.