Buxly Paints Limited (PSX: BUXL) was incorporated in Pakistan as private limited company in1954 and then was converted into a public limited company in 1985.
The company is engaged in the manufacturing of sale of pigments and paints, varnishes, protective surface coating and other related products.
The company has a toll manufacturing agreement with Berger Paints Limited. Besides catering to the local market, the company also exports its products to Far East and Middle East.
Pattern of Shareholding
As of June30, 2025, BUXL has a total of 1.44 million shares outstanding which are held by 863 shareholders. Associated companies account for 56.64 percent shares of BUXL followed by local general public having 27.85 percent stake in the company.
Foreign public holds 10.38 percent of the company’s shares while Mutual funds hold 3.28 percent shares. The remaining shares are held by other categories of shareholders.
Historical Performance (2019-25)
Except for a year-on-year slide in 2019 and 2025, the topline of BUXL posted year-on-year growth over the period under consideration. The bottomline of BUXL which was in the negative zone in 2018 and 2019 started posting profits thereafter.
Net profit kept growing until 2022 followed by a decline in 2023. In 2024, BUXL’s bottomline boasted its optimum level which was followed by net loss in 2025. The company’s margins which considerably plunged in 2019 registered noticeable improvement in 2020.
In 2021, gross margin fell while operating and net margins rebounded. 2022 witnessed erosion in BUXL’s gross and operating margins which recovered in the subsequent year. Conversely, net margin picked up in 2022 and plummeted in 2023. In 2024, all the margins strengthened. Gross margin further improved in 2025 while operating and net margins drastically fell (see the graph of profitability ratios). The detailed performance review of the period under consideration is given below.
In 2019, the company was able to record low off-take on the back of cutthroat competition in the industry. The company raised the prices of its products to compensate for the increase in cost of sales in line with the inflationary pressure.
However, not only did the topline slide by 18.34 percent year-on-year to clock in at Rs.256.67 million, gross profit also slipped by 35.70 percent in 2019. This resulted in GP margin of 12.1 percent in 2019 versus GP margin of 15.32 percent in 2018.
The company kept a check on its operating expenses, yet couldn’t be successful in attaining operating profit in 2019. Its operating loss stood at Rs.12.14 million in 2019, 440 percent higher than the operating loss posted by the company in the previous year.
Other income grew by 9.45 percent year-on-year in 2019 mainly on account of rental income made by renting its land and building to Berger Paints Pakistan Limited, however, the gain was largely offset by 37.54 percent higher finance cost on the back of increased discount rate and high short-term working capital finance obtained during the year.
BUXL posted net loss worth Rs. 15.70 million in 2019 as against the net loss of Rs. 5.4 million in the previous year. Loss per share stood at Rs.10.90 versus loss per share of Rs.3.75 posted by the company in 2018.
In 2020, the company registered topline growth of 7.23 percent year-on-year which was the combined effect of high sales volume and upward price revisions. Net sales stood at Rs. 275.22 million in 2020.
Rigorous cost control measures enabled BUXL to cut down its cost of sales by 1.59 percent year-on-year which resulted in year-on-year increase of 71.51 percent in BUXL’s gross profit with GP margin clocking in at 19.29 percent.
Operating expense grew in line with inflation, but the company was in a strong position to absorb them and post operating profit of Rs 7.29 million versus operating losses posted in 2018 and 2019.
OP margin stood at 2.65 percent in 2020. Finance cost grew by 19.94 percent in 2020 as discount rate was high for the first three quarters of 2020.
Other income didn’t paint a good picture either mainly on the back of a massive drop in royalty income from Berger Paints Pakistan Limited, an associated entity of BUXL. This squeezed the bottomline growth, yet BUXL was able to post net profit of Rs.0.05 million with EPS of Rs.0.04 and NP margin of 0.02 percent in 2020.
While topline grew with a greater magnitude i.e. 28.83 percent and 45.66 percent respectively in 2021 and 2022, high cost of sales resulted in a plunge in GP margins which stood at 16.34 percent and 13.10 percent in 2021 and 2022 respectively. This was despite 9.12 percent and 16.80 percent rise in gross profit recorded in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
OP margin was recorded at 3.47 percent in 2021 with 68.92 percent growth in its operating profit as the company cut back on its distribution expense; however, OP margin slid back to 2.53 percent in 2022 as distribution expense rose up on the back of higher payroll expense, advertising & promotion expense as well as travelling expense.
In 2022, operating profit registered a marginal 6.13 percent rise. Finance cost increased by 9.91 percent in 2021 despite low discount rate as the company procured more short-term financing during the year.
In 2022, while the discount rate was on the rise, the company was able to cut its finance cost by 32.56 percent year-on-year as it immensely reduced its short-term borrowings during the year.
Net profit grew by 5217.31 percent in 2021 to clock in at Rs.2.76 million with EPS of Rs.1.92. In 2022, net profit grew by 52.33 percent to clock in at Rs.4.21 million with EPS of Rs.2.93. NP margin of both 2021 and 2022 was almost the same i.e. 0.8 percent.
In 2023, BUXL’s topline mounted by 11.73 percent to clock in at Rs.577.08 million. The company was able to attain a tremendous growth of 32.24 percent in its gross profit in 2023 on the back of upward price revisions and cost control measures implemented during the year.
Distribution expense hiked by 20.35 percent in 2023 on the back of a significant rise in carriage outward as well as travelling & conveyance charges. Administrative expense registered a massive 80.37 percent spike in 2023 on account of impairment loss on ECL.
Operating profit mounted by 21.65 percent in 2023 with OP margin slightly rising up to stand at 2.76 percent. Finance cost escalated by 66.14 percent in 2023 on the back of high discount rate. This pushed the bottomline down by 35.5 percent to clock in at Rs.2.72 million with EPS of Rs.1.89. NP margin receded to clock in at 0.47 percent in 2023.
In 2024, BUXL’s net sales ticked up by 7.96 percent to clock in at Rs.622.99 million. This was the result of increased sales volume and price optimization. This culminated into 19.91 percent year-on-year improvement in gross profit in 2024 with GP margin clocking in at 17.23 percent.
Distribution expense mounted by 11.88 percent in 2024 due to increased salaries of sales staff, higher carriage outward as well as elevated travel & conveyance charges incurred during the year.
Administrative expense also multiplied by 19.79 percent in 2024 due to increased payroll expense on account of inflationary pressure. Operating profit strengthened by 45.29 percent in 2024 with OP margin rising up to 3.71 percent. Other income posted a marginal 0.41 percent growth in 2024 due to higher mark-up income on TDRs.
Finance cost grew by 24.19 percent in 2024 due to higher discount rate and increased short-term borrowings obtained during the year. Other expense surged by 28.41 percent in 2024 due to higher provisioning done for WWF and WPPF.
Net profit registered a staggering year-on-year growth of 157.75 percent to clock in at Rs.7 million in 2024. This translated into EPS of Rs.4.86 and NP margin of 1.12 percent.
In 2025, BUXL’s topline slid by 5.75 percent to clock in at Rs.587.14 million. This was the result of lower sales volume due to retarded construction activities and increased competition.
However, BUXL was able to record 4.25 percent improvement in its gross profit in 2025 with a higher GP margin of 19 percent on the back of improved product mix and price rationalization.
Distribution expense ticked up by 9.16 percent in 2025 due to higher salaries of sales force, increased carriage outward charges as well as travelling & conveyance expense incurred during the year. Administrative expense mounted by 62.44 percent in 2025 due to higher payroll expense on account of an increase in minimum wage rate and also because of workforce enhancement from 24 employees in 2024 to 26 employees in 2025.
Operating profit shrank by 79 percent in 2025 with OP margin tapering off to its lowest level of 0.83 percent. Finance cost slid by 18.16 percent in 2025 due to the onset of monetary easing coupled with lower outstanding short-term borrowings at the end of the year.
Lesser profit related provisioning translated into 77 percent year-on-year plunge in other expense in 2025. Other expense was offset by 79.93 percent stronger other income recorded in 2025 which was the consequence of reversal on provisioning done against contract liabilities and slow moving store and spares. BUXL posted net loss of Rs.4.059 million in 2025 with loss per share of Rs.2.82.
Recent Performance (1HFY26)
BUXL’s net sales slid by 7.56 percent to clock in at Rs.284.204 million in 1HFY26. This was due to changes in the sales mix. Cost of sales slid by 6.85 percent which resulted in 10.58 percent thinner gross profit in 1HFY26.
GP margin fell from 19 percent in 1HFY25 to 18.41 percent in 1HFY26 due to higher prices of raw and packing materials and increased toll manufacturing charges.
Distribution expense surged by 17 percent in 1HFY26 due to increased salaries of sales force, higher carriage outward charges as well as elevated travelling & conveyance expense incurred during the period. This was due to adoption of advanced distribution strategies. Greater payroll expense and higher impairment allowance for ECL resulted in 49.70 percent escalation in administrative expense in 1HFY26.
BUXL posted operating loss of Rs.12.598 million in 1HFY26 versus operating profit of Rs.8.99 million recorded in 1HFY25. Other income strengthened by 155.87 percent in 1HFY26 likely due to increased return on financial assets as the company expanded its investment profile.
No other expense was incurred during the period. Finance cost slid by 77.35 percent in 1HFY26 due to monetary easing and also because of complete settlement of outstanding short-term loan during the period. BUXL registered net loss of Rs.12.548 million with loss per share of Rs.8.71 in 1HFY26 as against net profit of Rs.1.94 million and EPS of Rs.1.35 posted in 1HFY25.
Future Outlook
Relative stability in the economic indicators is anticipated to support construction and renovation industry. BUXL’s topline might also see a price-led growth as the company is increasingly tapping avenues to optimize its sales mix and discover new opportunities in the paint industry.
The company must also tap new product markets or enter new geographical markets. This will not only expand its margins and bottomline growth but will also give it an edge in the industry.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026