Berger Paints India Ltd. on Friday, August 9, reported a consolidated net profit of ₹353.56 crore for the first-quarter of the 2024-25 fiscal, as against ₹354.35 crore in the same quarter a year ago. The profit figure stood flat due to the base effect of a very high margin recorded in the first-quarter of FY24.

The paint company’s revenue from operations for the quarter under review stood at ₹3,091 crore, a 2% increase from ₹3,029.5 crore in the corresponding period of last year.

The company’s EBITDA (Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) fell 6.2% to ₹522.4 crore for the April to June period, from ₹556.7 crore last year.

Margin stood at 17%. The company said that the operating margin was marginally ahead of guidance levels this quarter.

Berger Paints said that it has achieved a double-digit volume growth and the highest market share gain in a single quarter.

Berger Paints India Managing Director and CEO Abhijit Roy said that this quarter was tough due to elections, inclement weather and slowdown in a few key markets.

“Though we did well on the volume growth front, the value sales were lower due to the impact of the price drop taken in the prior quarters and stronger sale seen in the high volume, low value products in the waterproofing and construction chemicals category,” Roy said.

He further said that the profitability for the quarter, while healthy, had negative growth. “Three factors contributed to this, among them being the base effect of a very high margin recorded in Q1 FY24, impact of price reductions in prior quarters and an increased investment in advertising and brand building activities linked to elections,” Roy said.

Roy said that he remains optimistic on the demand scenario for the year ahead and look forward to introducing customers and influencers to new innovations in products and services as the year progresses.

Following the earnings announcement, shares of Berger Paints India Ltd. were trading about 2% higher at ₹526.50.