Near-term outlook remains strong for India's listed paint companies

A bigger canvas for volumes likely in double digits, while margins could expand on lower costs

The 2022-23 (FY23) January-March quarter performance of the country’s largest listed paint companies was better than Street expectations. Asian Paints, Berger Paints, and Kansai Nerolac Paints (Kansai Nerolac) registered double-digit revenue growth, compared with the year-ago quarter, reinforced by strong volume/value growth. Falling raw material prices also helped the paint majors hoist their gross margins.

On a consolidated basis, Kansai Nerolac was slightly ahead of its bigger peers, chronicling revenue growth of 12.8 per cent year-on-year (YoY), compared to the 11.3–11.7 per cent growth registered by its peers. While growth was broad-based across segments, the company saw increased traction in