India’s Berger Paints misses quarterly profit view on higher expenses, one-time charge

Berger Paints India reported quarterly profit below analyst estimates on Tuesday, as higher expenses and a one-time charge related to a fire incident weighed.

Consolidated net profit shrank 11% to 3.15 billion rupees (about $36 million) in the quarter ended June 30.

Analysts, on average, had predicted a profit of 3.62 billion rupees, as per data compiled by LSEG.

Berger took a one-time charge of 368.1 million rupees during the quarter.

Key context

Indian paintmakers have been grappling with soft retail demand. “The early onset of monsoon played spoilsport this quarter,” CEO Abhijit Roy said in a statement.

However, India’s largest paintmaker Asian Paints said last month that it sees some “green shoots” of demand recovery in the sector.

It had resorted to discounts in the quarter to buy back customers, while it posted an in-line quarterly profit.

Rivals, Akzo Nobel India and Kansai Nerolac posted lower quarterly profit.