Kansai Nerolac Paints Q4 net profit jumps five-fold to Rs 96 crore

Nerolac Paints

Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd on Monday reported over five-fold growth in its consolidated net profit to Rs 96.24 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2023.

The company had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 19.17 crore in the January-March period a year ago, Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd (KNPL) said in a regulatory filing.

Its revenue from operations surged 12.81 per cent during the quarter under review to Rs 1,733.59 crore. It was Rs 1,536.60 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal, it added.

The total expenses were 7.61 per cent higher at Rs 1,618.08 crore compared to Rs 1,503.54 crore in Q4 FY22.

KNPL's total income in the March quarter was at Rs 1,743.29 crore, up 13.52 per cent.

KNPL Managing Director Anuj Jain said all businesses have done well in the March quarter.

"Though raw material prices have softened, for the year, inflation is still positive. Judicious cost management efforts were continued. This along with various initiatives undertaken in previous quarters have led to the gross margins improving over the corresponding quarter last year and sequentially," he said.

KNPL continued with growth initiatives in decorative and performance coating.

For the entire 2022-23, KNPL's net profit jumped 36.52 per cent to Rs 468.47 crore. It was Rs 343.15 crore in FY22.

Its consolidated revenue from operations in FY23 increased 18.42 per cent to Rs 7,542.73 crore from Rs 6,369.35 crore a year ago.

On the outlook, Jain said: "Looking forward, demand is expected to remain healthy in the near term".

While sharing the Indian paint industry outlook, KNPL said the size of the domestic paint industry is estimated at around Rs 70,000 crore as of March 2023.

"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," he said.

Meanwhile, KNPL also said its board in a meeting held on Monday has recommended a dividend of 270 per cent, which is Rs 2.70 per share of Re 1 each for the financial year ended March 31, 2023.

It has also approved a "proposal for declaration of Bonus Equity Shares in the ratio of 1:2, subject to the approval of the shareholders of the company".

It has also approved the appointment of Pravin D Chaudhari as a non-executive director of the company with effect from June 26, 2023.

Shares of Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd on Monday settled at Rs 403.20 on BSE, up 2.17 per cent from the previous close.