14-05-2025
Berger Paints India tops quarterly earnings view, bets on industrial strength
May 14 (Reuters) - Berger Paints India ( opens new tab reported quarterly results above expectations on Wednesday, with strong industrial demand cushioning retail weakness.
Its shares rose 2.5% in the afternoon trading.
"The tough market conditions continued into the fourth quarter with muted urban demand and increased competitive intensity," said CEO Abhijit Roy. "The industrial segment... saw resilient performance, which bodes well for us in the months ahead."
Consolidated net profit rose to 2.62 billion rupees ($30.7 million) during January to March, up 18% on year. Analysts on average had expected a profit of 2.43 billion rupees, per data compiled by LSEG.
Revenue from operations rose over 7% to 27.04 billion rupees, surpassing estimates.
For further earnings highlights, click
KEY CONTEXT
Indian paintmakers have been battling weak consumer spending sentiment for a few quarters amid increased competition in the sector following the entry of Grasim Industries ( opens new tab.
Analysts have flagged that players with a more diversified customer base, such as Berger, are better-placed in a soft retail environment.
Last week, market leader Asian Paints ( opens new tab forecast that the worst demand scenario in decades is likely to persist in the near term, while peer Kansai Nerolac ( opens new tab posted a surprise profit fall.
PEER COMPARISON
* The mean of analyst ratings standardised to a scale of Strong Buy, Buy, Hold, Sell, and Strong Sell
** The ratio of the stock's last close to analysts' mean price target; a ratio above 1 means the stock is trading above the PT
JANUARY-MARCH STOCK PERFORMANCE
-- All data from LSEG
-- $1 = 85.2675 Indian rupees
