Berger Paints India Ltd anticipates a slowdown in sales volume growth this year. The slowdown will be more pronounced in the industrial segment, which accounts for almost 30 per cent of its total turnover, said Mr Abhijit Roy, Chief Operating Officer.
“Volume sales will be under pressure due to the slowdown in the economy. The industrial segment is likely to be the worst affected,” Mr Roy told Business Line .
Berger does not expect prices to inch up further this year. The company had on May 1 hiked prices by about two per cent.
“Raw material prices have almost stabilised. However, the depreciation of rupee against the dollar is impacting us as close to 20 per cent of our raw materials are imported. This is likely to push up our input costs by 2-2.5 per cent. We have already factored that into our May price hike,” he said.
Dividend
Berger Paints posted 30 per cent growth in standalone net profit to Rs 49 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2012, compared with Rs 38 crore the same period last year. The higher profit was driven by 26 per cent growth in turnover to Rs 683 crore during the period.
For the year ended March 31, 2012, profits grew by 19 per cent rise to Rs 177 crore. Net sales grew 26 per cent to Rs 2,662 crore.
The company's board has recommended a dividend of Rs 1.4 or 70 per cent for paid-up equity shares of face value of Rs 2 each. Berger's scrip closed at Rs 137, down by 2.87 per cent, on the BSE on Wednesday.