Akzo Nobel India held a conference call on 07 February 2024 to discuss the results for the quarter ended December 2024 and way forward. Mr. Rajiv Rajgopal - Managing Director, Mr. Krishna R- Chief Financial Officer and Whole time Director of the company addressed the call.

Highlights of the Concall

• Revenue increased 5% to Rs 1032.7 crore led by double digit growth in volumes. Growth was led by premium category and Projects business while it is reworking its strategy on mass & economy.

• Semi-urban markets sustained growth traction while weakness was seen in urban markets.

• The company took two price drops - one in December and second in January, which works out to approximately 3%.

• Price correction of around 1.3% was taken during the quarter

• The company coatings business and B2B segments sustained their robust growth trajectory. In the decorative paints business, retail saw a strong volume growth in the quarter and saw margin improvements.

• Profitability strengthened due to raw material deflation and favourable mix coupled with operating leverage.

• The company made a slew of product upgrades across categories in decorative paints. In the mass market, Dulux Promise Interior and Exterior range’s new formulation now delivers higher coverage with good opacity, resulting in more saving for consumers. In premium interior emulsion segment, Dulux SuperCover is upgraded to Dulux SuperCover Ultra. Boosted with the new Silicon technology, the latest upgrade delivers longer lasting colour with superior whiteness and comes with a 4-year warranty. In the waterproofing solutions segment, the performance of Dulux Aquatech Flexible range of waterproofing basecoats has been enhanced resulting in an upgraded warranty of nine years (on Dulux Aquatech Flexible Neo) and 12 years (on Dulux Aquatech Flexible Advance) with the topcoat. In professional segment, Dulux Professional Weathershield Prima E900 - the entry level premium exterior offering now comes powered with the advanced Silicon technology to offer a longer 6-year all weather protection to project exteriors.

• The company's distribution has expanded to cover almost 23,000 to 25,000 outlets and has around 18,000 to 20,000 tinting machines.

• The company has presence in about 5000 towns and plans to reach about 8000 towns in 2 year time.

• The company expects a double digit volume growth in FY25.