Asian Paints net profit up 8% in Q2

Mumbai, Oct 24 (IANS) Asian Paints on Tuesday said its consolidated net profit after non-controlling interest from continuing operations rose by 8 per cent to Rs 508.42 crore in the quarter ended September 30, up from Rs 470.83 crore in the previous corresponding period.

Its revenue from operations rose by 13.7 per cent to Rs 4,274.18 crore in the quarter under review from Rs 3,757.66 crore in the year-ago period.

"The decorative business in India registered high single digit volume growth in the current quarter. Hence, there was a recovery from first quarter which was affected by the impact of destocking due to Goods and Services Tax (GST)," said company Managing Director and CEO K.B.S. Anand.

"However the impact of GST continued through July and a recovery of sorts was seen only in September."

According to him, the automotive coatings JV (PPG-AP) witnessed subdued demand in the auto OEM (original equipment manufacturer) and general industrial business segment. However, the performance of Industrial Coatings JV (AP-PPG) was satisfactory.

"In the international operations, units in Nepal, Bangladesh, Oman and Bahrain witnessed good topline growth. However, currency devaluation in Egypt and forex unavailability in Ethiopia impacted the overall performance of the international operations," he said.

Both the segments within the home improvement business - the Kitchen business under Sleek and the bath business under Ess Ess, performed significantly better than the first quarter, he said.

The paint maker also said its board of directors approved the payment of an interim dividend of Rs 2.65 per share.

However, its consolidated net profit after non-controlling interest (from continuing operations) decreased by 7 per cent to Rs 933.60 crore in the April-September period as compared to Rs 1,004.36 crore in the corresponding period last year.

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