Paint maker Akzo Nobel India posts flat fourth-quarter profit on weak demand, higher costs

JSW Dulux

14/05/2025 14:35

May 14 (Reuters) - Paint maker Akzo Nobel India AKZO.NS reported a flat fourth-quarter profit on Wednesday, due to weak demand and rising costs.

The "Dulux" paint maker's consolidated net profit fell 0.3% to 1.08 billion rupees ($12.6 million) in the quarter ended March 31.

The firm, a unit of the Netherlands' Akzo Nobel AKZO.AS, said its revenue from operations rose 5% to 10.22 billion rupees.

A 5.2% surge in raw material costs pushed its total expenses up by 6% to 8.87 billion rupees.

For further earnings highlights, click [Full Story]

KEY CONTEXT

Indian paint makers face sluggish retail demand as consumers opt for cheaper alternatives amid heightened competition triggered by Grasim Industries' GRAS.NS entry.

Analysts had predicted that higher operating and marketing costs would limit margin growth in the fourth quarter.

However, analysts at Anand Rathi had hoped that the reported quarter would reflect the benefit of the 2%-3% price hike toward the end of the second quarter.

Market leader Asian Paints ASPN.NS missed profit estimates and warned of the worst demand in decades, with little hope for near-term recovery.

Kansai Nerolac KANE.NS posted an unexpected decline in fourth-quarter profit as higher expenses overshadowed "better-than-the-market" automotive demand.

Berger Paints BRGR.NS beat quarterly earnings estimates earlier in the day, with strong industrial demand cushioning retail weakness. Grasim Industries will report their results next week.

PEER COMPARISON

Valuation (next 12 months)
Estimates (next 12 months)
Analysts' sentiment
RIC
PE
EV/EBITDA
Revenue growth (%)
Profit growth (%)
Mean rating*
No. of analysts
Stock to price target**
Div yield (%)
Akzo Nobel India
AKZO.NS
33.56
21.22
8.75
11.10
Buy
2
0.89
3.19
Asian Paints
ASPN.NS
48.66
33.21
5.08
8.09
Sell
33
1.01
1.05
Kansai Nerolac Paints
KANE.NS
28.84
17.61
7.63
34.61
Hold
12
0.92
0.96
Berger Paints India
BRGR.NS
49.76
31.12
8.54
8.79
Hold
20
1.09
0.65

* The mean of analyst ratings standardised to a scale of Strong Buy, Buy, Hold, Sell, and Strong Sell

** The ratio of the stock's last close to analysts' mean price target; a ratio above 1 means the stock is trading above the PT

JANUARY-MARCH STOCK PERFORMANCE

-- All data from LSEG

-- $1 = 85.4140 Indian rupees

AKZO NOBEL JAN_MARCH https://tmsnrt.rs/3GRORiZ

 (Reporting by Anuran Sadhu in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy and Shailesh Kuber)

 ((Anuran.Sadhu@thomsonreuters.com; +91 8697274436;))