Asian Paints: Little scope for a sharp recovery in near-term revenue growth

Valuations of 50x FY21 estimated earnings are rich

Asian Paints’ December quarter (Q3) numbers were a mix bag. The decorative paints major clocked 8.4 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth in profit before tax to Rs 1,057.3 crore, which was above the consensus estimate of Rs 1,032 crore, according to Bloomberg.  
 

However, it disappointed on the revenue front despite an estimated 11-12 per cent volume growth in the decorative paints, which forms over 80 per cent of its sales. Revenues grew 3 per cent YoY to Rs 5,420.3 crore, against the Street’s estimate of Rs 5,692.3 crore. The lower growth in revenue compared to volumes shows realisations were muted.