Though Indian equity markets witnessed one of the steepest declines in March last year due to Covid-19 related demand slowdown, it has recovered well since then . Paint companies, in particular, have been resilient amid market volatility during this period. . Both Asian Paints and Berger have rallied giving 53 and 75 per cent returns respectively from March lows. .
Besides benefit from low crude oil prices last year, release of pent-up demand with economy fully opened up, and festive season gave a boost in the last quarter of 2020. This has reflected in the earnings of paint companies which have been improving in the last two quarters. In its recent December quarter, Berger Paints has reported double-digit volume growth in its mainstay business and decorative paints. It reported a revenue growth of 25 per cent y-o-y and profit growth of 51 per cent y-o-y.
Berger Paints holds a dominant position in select geographies, particularly in non-metro and rural areas across the country….