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Informist, Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026

 

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--Asian Paints:Focus on regionalisation via strategies, consumer preferences 
--CONTEXT: Asian Paints mgmt's comments in post-earnings call with analysts 
--Asian Paints: See opportunities in B2B amid urbanisation, industrialisation 
--Asian Paints: To ramp up new vinyl acetate ethylene unit capacity next yr 
--Asian Paints: Rural mkt leading over urban mkt in decorative segment 
--Asian Paints: Plans to ramp up kitchen, bath fittings ops going ahead 
--Asian Paints: Plans premium product launches across geographies 
--Asian Paints: Took 7% price hike in Q1, almost 5% in Q2 
--Asian Paints: Subdued product mix in Q2, due to seasonality 
--Asian Paints: Outlook volatile for Oct-Mar on raw material inflation 
--Asian Paints: To take 'little bit' calibrated price hikes going ahead 
--Asian Paints: Expects Q3 gross margin in 41-43?nd 
--Asian Paints: Maintains EBITDA margin guidance of 18-20% for FY27 
--Asian Paints: Sees 8-9% volume growth in Q3 on festive demand

 

By Gunjan Rajput and Adhithya Aji

 

MUMBAI – Asian Paints Ltd. expects volume growth of 8-9% in the December quarter, supported by festive demand in the decorative paints segment, a top official said during the company's post-earnings analyst call Thursday. The company expects gross margin to remain in the range of 41-43% in Oct-Dec.

 

The company had posted decorative paints volume growth of 6.4% in the September quarter and gross margin stood at 40.3%. The paint maker's net profit for the reporting quarter rose over 7% on year and declined nearly 31% on quarter to INR 10.68 billion. The company's revenue from operations grew nearly 17% on year and declined over 5% sequentially to INR 99.77 billion. "The operating environment this year has been marked by sharp raw material inflation and material availability constraints driven by geopolitical disruptions, the full impact of which was felt in Q2," the company said in the press release.

 

The paint maker expects to take a calibrated price hike going ahead to offset raw material inflation while protecting consumer demand. The company has announced a further price hike of nearly 3.5% for November, following the hikes of 7% in the June quarter and nearly 5% in the September quarter. "We would continue to kind of take a little bit of a calibrated view on pricing at the same time trying to balance the margins going forward so that basically we do not disrupt the consumer demand in terms of going forward to that extent," the official said.

 

The company maintains its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation margin guidance of 18-20% for the financial year 2026-27 (Apr-Mar), supported by cost-efficiency initiatives and the gradual incorporation of vinyl acetate ethylene into its formulations. "We believe as we go forward, for the year, we should be able to maintain the band in terms of what we have spoken of, 18-20%", the offical added. 

 

The company expects the operating environment to remain volatile in the second half of FY27 amid raw material inflation and intense competition. The anti-dumping duty on titanium dioxide, effective Oct. 24, is another factor that could weigh on costs, the management said.

 

Asian Paints expects gross margin to remain in the 41-43% range in the December quarter, depending on the extent of further input cost inflation. The company also expects a better product mix in the quarter, supported by the return of seasonal exterior paint sales and its focus on premiumisation.

 

Asian Paints has commissioned the first phase of its vinyl acetate ethylene facility, which began operations in September. It expects to utilise the full capacity in the next financial year. The facility is expected to support differentiated product formulations and improve cost efficiencies as utilisation increases. The company estimates that the technology could provide a margin benefit of 300-500 basis points when it operates at its full potential, although the benefits depend on the ramp-up of the different phases.

 

Asian Paints sees increasing opportunities in the business-to-business segment amid urbanisation, industrialisation, and government spending on infrastructure. The company is strengthening its offerings across business-to-business, business-to-consumer, and business-to-government segments through integrated product and service platforms, the offical said. 

 

In the decorative paints segment, rural markets continue to outperform urban markets. "I think the only difference here is that when we look at the B2B (business-to-business) business, we see strong performances in some of the urban markets, especially the T1, T2 cities (Tier-I and Tier-II) to that extent. So I think that is something which is the way it is balancing it out to that extent," the official added.

 

Asian Paints is also focusing on regionalisation by tailoring its strategies to regional identities and consumer preferences. The company continues to launch premium products across geographies, with new products contributing about 18% of its revenue.

 

In home decor businesses, bath fittings revenues rose 18.5% to INR 940 million and kitchen revenues increased 13.0% to INR 1.10 billion for the September quarter. The company continues to expand these operations as part of its broader strategy to strengthen its presence across the home decor segment. 

 

Asian Paints announced its earnings during market hours. Thursday, its shares ended at INR 2,302 on the National Stock Exchange, up nearly 1% from Wednesday.  End

 

Edited by Deepshikha Bhardwaj

 

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