Asian Paints posts 45% rise in Q4 profit on strong demand, easing costs

BENGALURU (Reuters) -Indian paint maker Asian Paints Ltd reported an over-45% rise in fourth-quarter profit on Thursday, aided by easing input costs and strong demand for decorative paints.

The Mumbai-based company's consolidated net profit came in at 12.34 billion rupees ($150.9 million) for the quarter ended March 31, compared with 8.5 billion rupees a year earlier, which included a one-time expense of 1.16 billion rupees.

High volatility in crude, which accounts for about 30% of raw material costs, has corrected from its 2022 high of $139.13 per barrel when it drove up Asian Paints' raw materials expenses over 21%.

Its cost of materials consumed declined nearly 5% during the fourth quarter.

Analysts said the onset of an early summer helped paint companies recover from a subdued demand during the October-December period, which was hit by extended monsoon.

The company's revenue from operations rose over 11% to 87.87 billion rupees.

Chief Executive and Managing Director Amit Syngle said work on formulation and sourcing efficiencies, and easing inflation in raw material prices improved margins sequentially and over last year.

Asian Paints dominates nearly half of the domestic paints sector, and the decorative paint segment accounts for about 80% of the company's revenue.

Shares of Asian Paints rose nearly 3% after the results.

Separately, the company recommended a final dividend of 21.25 rupees per share.

Earlier this week, smaller rival Kansai Nerolac reported nearly a four-fold surge in quarterly profit.

($1 = 81.7800 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nishit Navin and Varun Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by Sohini Goswami)