Shares of Asian Paints were trading in negative territory on Thursday, July 18, after the company announced financial results for the April-June quarter of financial year 2024-25. The stock fell 4.4% to ₹2,842 per share on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). However, it recovered from the day’s low and traded 2% lower at ₹2,913.9 at 9:42 am.
On Wednesday, Asian Paints reported a 24.5% decline in its consolidated net profit to ₹1,186.7 crore in Q1FY25 due to demand slowdown due to Lok Sabha elections and extreme heat. The company had earned a net profit of Rs 1,550.3 crore in the same period a year ago.
Consolidated revenue from operations fell 2.3% year-on-year to ₹8,969.73 crore in the latest June quarter, compared to ₹9,182.31 crore in the same period last year. Total expenditure stood at ₹7,559.04 crore, up 3.4% from ₹7,305.09 crore in the year-ago period.
“Demand conditions for the paint industry were tough, impacted by the extreme heat and general elections in the quarter,” said Amit Singal, managing director and CEO, Asian Paints Ltd. He said that despite delivering good volume growth of 7% in the decorative segment, the company’s value declined by 3% due to some movement in rural markets, reduction in prices at the beginning of the year and change in product mix.
On the international front, Singal said geographies such as Sri Lanka and Ethiopia have shown good growth in Q1 due to the gradual improvement in these economies. However, major macroeconomic issues continued to dominate markets such as Bangladesh, Egypt and Nepal, impacting the overall performance of international trade.
On the outlook, Singal said, “In the near term, we expect the demand situation to improve on the back of improving rural sentiment and gradual onset of monsoon. We continue to drive growth through enhanced affordability of our brands, innovation and customer-centricity.” We are focused on driving growth forward.”
