Paints

India's paint industry is witnessing an improvement in demand across urban and rural markets, raising hopes of healthy volume growth for leading players in FY27 even as they implement price hikes to offset rising input costs amid an intensely competitive market. Paint manufacturers, which have already undertaken multiple rounds of price hikes amid rising crude-linked raw material costs, remain cautious and are expected to implement calibrated increases to pass on higher input costs to consumers while protecting margins. Crude oil derivatives account for nearly 30-35 per cent of the paint industry's raw material costs, as key inputs such as solvents, binders and resins are closely linked to global oil prices. The sector remains exposed to geopolitical uncertainties, currency fluctuations and supply-chain disruptions that could further influence costs. Listed players, such as Asian Paints, Kansai Nerolac, Berger and AkzoNobel India, in their latest earnings calls, said demand trends .

India's largest paint maker posted strong double-digit volume growth and margin expansion in Q4FY26, supported by decorative paints demand and industrial coatings growth

The brokerage has upgraded Asian Paints and Berger Paints to 'Buy,' calling the stability in margins and dealer relationships a "re-rating event" for the industry.

The company said the appointment of Hargave's successor will be announced in due course. In the meantime, MD Himanshu Kapania will directly oversee the paints business

Among individual players, the brokerage sees Kansai Nerolac as likely to be the most affected, given greater disruption in North India

The transaction, executed via the bulk deal mechanism at ₹3,651 per share, fetched Asian Paints approximately ₹734 crore

Reflecting an intense competition in the Indian decorative paints industry with new entrants offering aggressive pricing and discounting, leading players have reported impact on sales realisation and margins in FY25, but expect a modest growth this year. The industry, which also faced a demand slowdown from urban markets and downtrading, where consumers are moving towards more affordable options, expects a modest growth in FY26, driven by favourable macroeconomic conditions, rising urbanisation, and increased construction and infrastructure development activities. Asian Paints which holds over 50 per cent of the domestic market said new entrants as well as established players with their "aggressive pricing and discounting strategies" are intensifying competition, which affected its value realisations as well as the profitability. The overall weak consumption trends prevalent through FY25 had a dampening impact on the domestic decorative paints market, particularly the urban markets,

Asian Paints' consolidated net profit attributable to the owners of the company declined 23.3 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 1,110.5 crore in Q3FY25, down from Rs 1,447.7 crore in Q3FY24

On organic expansion, JSW Paints plans to invest Rs 1,000 crore in the next three to five years

The company attributed the rise in gross revenues to a significant ramp-up in both decorative paints and industrial coatings businesses

Paint companies remain unperturbed with competition heating up

The company has also inaugurated three plants of Birla Opus at Panipat (Haryana), Ludhiana (Punjab) and Cheyyar (Tamil Nadu)

Paints and coatings maker Akzo Nobel India Ltd on Tuesday reported a 16.83 per cent increase in its consolidated net profit to Rs 113.8 crore in the December quarter, helped by a double-digit growth in volumes and raw material deflation. The company posted a net profit of Rs 97.4 crore during the October-December quarter a year ago, according to a regulatory filing. Its revenue from operations grew 4.65 per cent to Rs 1,032.7 crore during the quarter under review. It was Rs 986.8 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. Total expenses of Akzo Nobel, maker of Dulux paints, rose 2.53 per cent to Rs 889.6 crore in the December quarter. Akzo Nobel's total income in the third quarter was Rs 1,041.1 crore, up 4.19 per cent. "For the first time, our quarterly topline has surpassed the milestone of Rs 1,000 crore mark, led by double-digit growth in volumes. Our Coatings business and B2B segments sustained their robust growth trajectory," its Chairman and Managing Director

The company, owned by Japan's Kansai Paint Co, said consolidated net profit rose 40% year-over-year to 1.54 billion rupees ($18.5 million) in the third quarter

Consolidated net profit rose about 35% to 14.48 billion rupees ($174.15 million) in the quarter ended Dec. 31, it said in a filing

The company has also appointed Rohit Totla as sales and marketing director and designated India as the regional headquarters for South Asia, January 1, 2024 onwards

But lower commodity prices are likely to support margins

Specialty chemicals company Zydex Group is eyeing 15-20 per cent growth in revenues to Rs 375 crore from all its verticals including road, textile, agro, water proofing and paints in 2023-24 compared to previous fiscal year. Talking to PTI, Chairman and Managing Director Zydex Group Ajay Ranka said,"We are expecting 15 to 20 per cent revenue growth in all business verticals during 2023-24 compared to 2022-23." He said the company gets 35 per cent revenue from road vertical, 35 per cent from textiles, 10-12 per cent agro, 14-15 per cent from waterproofing and 3-4 cent from paints business. About the staggering impact of the pandemic (which hit in March 2020) on the businesses, Ranka said though market sentiments have improved, the textile sector is doing poor since October 2022. Rest of the sectors are however growing post pandemic. "Organic growth of the company is expected in the next two years beyond which inorganic growth will be looked into, once business verticals stabilize an

It was Ashwin Dani who pioneered the idea of computerised colour matching in the Indian paint industry

The size of the Indian paints & coatings industry is estimated to grow to Rs 1 lakh crore in the next five years from the present Rs 62,000 crore, said Akzo Nobel India. Besides, the margin for the paints & coatings industry will improve as in FY23, it witnessed softening of raw material prices from their previous highs, said the latest annual report of Akzo Nobel India, a leading player in the segment. "As raw materials account for approximately 55-60 per cent of the input costs, price corrections in crude oil and other essential components resulted in improved margins for the industry," it said. The industry has emerged as an attractive sector, by the entry of several new players in recent times, which are actively investing in infrastructure, technology, and marketing to establish their presence and capture a share of the market, it said. "This heightened competition has prompted existing players to further bolster their capabilities and differentiate themselves in order to