Paints major Berger Paints on Friday reported a marginal decline in its consolidated net profit to ₹354.03 crore for the first quarter this fiscal as against ₹354.91 crore for the same period last fiscal.
The company’s revenue from operations during the first quarter grew around 2 per cent year-on-year at ₹3091.01 crore, while total expenses witnessed a 3.9 per cent y-o-y rise at ₹2670.98 crore during the period, according to a stock exchange filing.
Tax expenses during the period under review declined by 7.68 per cent y-o-y. Ebitda, excluding other income, for Q1FY25 stood at ₹522.4 crore as against ₹556.8 crore for Q1FY24, representing a decline of 6.2 per cent y-o-y.
The company said the first quarter of this fiscal was “tough” due to elections, inclement weather and slowdown in a few key markets. “In spite of this we were able to deliver double digit volume growth and the highest market share gain in a single quarter,” said Abhijit Roy, Managing Director and CEO, Berger Paints India.
Roy said though the company did well on the volume growth front during the period, the value sales were lower due to the impact of the price drop taken in the prior quarters.
“Profitability for the quarter, while healthy, had negative growth. Three factors contributed to this, key among them being the base effect of a very high margin recorded in Q1FY24, impact of price reductions in prior quarters and an increased investment in advertising and brand building activities linked to elections,” the MD pointed out.
He said on the international front, the company’s Polish operations continued to do well while operations in Nepal continued to be a challenge. “We are now starting to see some signs of improvement in Nepal,” he added.
The company said its board has accepted the request of Kuldip Singh Dhingra, Chairman, and Gurbachan Singh Dhingra, Vice Chairman of the Company to step down from their respective posts with effect from close of business hours on August 12, 2024.
As part of the succession planning exercise of the company ensuring seamless transition to the next generation of leaders, Rishma Kaur was appointed as the Chairperson of the company by the board. Kanwardip Singh Dhingra was appointed as Vice Chairman of the company by the board with effect from August 13.
Kuldip Singh Dhingra and Gurbachan Singh Dhingra will continue on the board as Non-Executive Directors designated Chairman Emeritus and Vice Chairman Emeritus, respectively, with effect from August 13, to guide their successors on strategic thinking, leadership and overall understanding of the business.
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