Nippon Paint halts launch of new premium products due to poor

: Facing poor market sentiment, paint major Nippon Paint has halted some of its premium product launches under the decorative category, a top company official said here on Friday.

The company, which has launched several products, including odourless paints and Kids paint in the past, was "expecting to register a high single digit growth" in the current fiscal, Nippon Paint Pvt Ltd (Decorative division), President, S Mahesh Anand said.

"Industry is definitely affected. All public listed (paint) companies reported very good results in the first quarter.

But in the current quarter (July-Aug-September), everybody are keeping their fingers crossed (on financial performance of the companies)," he told reporters.

Noting that Nippon Paint had also done well in the April-May-June quarter, he said they expected to post a "high single digit growth" in the coming quarters.

He replied in the affirmative when asked whether the company was putting on hold its initiative to unveil new product launches under decorative business.

"Yes. We have. Anyway people are not buying premium decorative paints, so why launch that product?"