Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd on Monday reported its fiscal first quarter numbers wherein the company’s profit plummeted 68.7 per cent to Rs 230.83 crore as compared to Rs 738 crore recorded during the first quarter of previous fiscal year. It posted revenue from operations at Rs 2133.06 crore, marginally lower than Rs 2156.80 crore posted during the corresponding quarter of FY24. The company EBITDA stood at Rs 329.5 crore, down 0.7 per cent on-year.
Anuj Jain, Managing Director, Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd, said, “The quarter continued to witness good demand for Automotive Coatings. Demand for Decorative was muted due to unprecedent heatwave, labor shortages and elections. Demand for Performance Coating was subdued however it picked up in June. A combination of measures like cost control, product mix and procurement efficiencies helped improve gross margins over the corresponding quarter last year. Raw material prices have now gradually started to harden due to various geopolitical issues. The company is actively taking steps to mitigate this cost increase. The company is also undertaking various initiatives in the digital space to improve its efficiency in the marketplace.”
“Looking forward, with a favorable monsoon demand should improve for decorative. Given the continued thrust on infrastructure growth, new project and order pipeline we believe demand for performance coatings should be strong,” he added
The size of the domestic paint industry is estimated at around Rs 75000 crore as of March 2024. The good growth in infrastructure, core sector as well as automobile and real estate is likely to have a positive effect on the overall demand of paint for the industry in the long run, the company stated.
Furthermore, the company also announced the appointment of Hirokazu Kotera with effect from 1st August, 2024, for a period of 3 years as Whole-time Director designated as Executive Director. Hirokazu Kotera started his career as a sales executive in Nestle Japan and having expertise in marketing, he had worked in international companies such as Nestle Japan and Nissin Foods, where he had acted as brand manager and marketing manager. In 2017, he joined Kansai Paint, Japan, and had been working in corporate planning and international business units in KPJ and being involved in the multi- national projects in South-east Asia, Russia, (South and East) Africa. In October 2022, he had been seconded to the Company, where he has been a Vice President, Decorative Marketing and Special Projects and has been acting as a representative of KPJ on various projects in India and collaborative projects with Japan.