Akzo Nobel India Q1 net profit rises 42% to Rs 110 cr as margins improve

Paints and coatings maker Akzo Nobel India Ltd on Thursday reported a 42.91 per cent increase in its consolidated net profit to Rs 109.9 crore for the quarter ended in June 2023, helped by improvement in margins with softening in raw material costs and demand uptick.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 76.9 crore during the April-June quarter a year ago, Akzo Nobel said in a regulatory filing.

Its revenue from operations was up 6.55 per cent to Rs 999.2 crore during the quarter under review as against Rs 937.7 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

 

Total expenses of Akzo Nobel, maker of Dulux paints, were up 2.56 per cent to Rs 859.8 crore in the first quarter of FY 2023-24

Commenting over the results Akzo Nobel India Managing Director Rajiv Rajgopal said: "Building on our profitable growth momentum, we delivered a record performance across absolute revenue, EBIT and PAT in the first quarter of FY24.

Demand uptick seen across infrastructure, automotive, marine and oil and gas sectors aided Coatings, conducive real estate drove projects, while semi-urban, rural geographies supported retail growth during the quarter, he said.

"Sequential softening in raw material costs and gains of earlier pricing actions translated to an improvement in gross margins. Favourable operating leverage drove continued double-digit profitability. Operating profit after tax crossed Rs 100 crore mark per quarter for the first time," Rajgopal said.

Akzo Nobel's total income in the June quarter was at Rs 1,007.4 crore, up 6.96 per cent.

The board of Akzo Nobel India recommended the re-appointment of Rajiv Rajgopal as Managing Director of the company for a further period of five years, with effect from November 1, 2023, subject to shareholder approval.

Shares of Akzo Nobel India Ltd on Thursday settled at Rs 2,895 on BSE, up 4.22 per cent from the previous close.