Berger Paints profit soars 40% to Rs 354 crore in Q1, EBITDA rises by 38%

Paint company Berger Paints, on Wednesday, reported a profit of Rs 354.4 crore in the quarter ending June, up 40 per cent from Rs 253.4 crore profit reported in the same quarter previous fiscal. 

The Kolkata-headquartered company’s revenue surged by 10 per cent to Rs 3,029.5 crore as opposed to Rs 2,760 crore in the same quarter last year.

The earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) also known as operating profit soared 37.5 per cent to Rs 557 crore against Rs 405 crore in the same quarter previous fiscal. Berger Paints’ margin rose by 370 basis points (bps) to 18.4 per cent from 14.7 per cent in the same quarter last year.

Abhijit Roy, MD and CEO, Berger Paints India Limited said, “The decorative business saw double digit growth both on value and volume fronts on high bases. Our operating profit to sales per cent also increased substantially to 18.8 per cent, a growth of 37.5 per cent and a 2-year CAGR of 52.5 per cent. We usually are in the range of 16-18 per cent of operating profits and the Q1 performance has surpassed that range. 

Roy highlighted that decorative registered volume growth in the mid-teens and double digit value growth. Auto GI and Protective Division have done well even on high bases. Powder coatings underperformed in Q1 but is expected to do better in Q2. 

“Nepal operations underperformed due to country specific issues and will rebound in the coming quarter. We continue to focus on network expansion and invest in our brands. All our differentiated products like Anti Dust, Easy Clean and Longlife continue to grow handsomely. With normal monsoons ahead and an extended festive season, we are gearing up for exciting times ahead,” Roy added.

The company also announced a bonus issue in the ratio of 1:5, which means that one new equity share will be given for every 5 existing equity shares. However, the Bonus shares, subject to approval of the shareholders, will be issued by capitalisation of Securities Premium Account.  

Berger Paints competes with Asian Paints, Kansai Nerolac, Akzo Nobel Paints, and Shalimar Paints among others in this segment. Its market capitalisation is Rs 67,888 crore to date. The company has 16 manufacturing units in India, two in Nepal, and one each in Poland and Russia.

The stock of Berger Paints settled at Rs 703 per share, down over 1 per cent, when the market closed today, August 09, 2023