Berger Paints sees a pickup in decorative paints sales in the second half of the year, with unseasonal rain having dampened the demand.
“Demand is not robust as it is still raining heavily in many parts of the country. That impacts sales.
“However, once the rain stops, we expect sales to pick up. September should be a big month, being pre-Diwali. There is also some amount of pent-up demand,” said Berger Paints managing director and CEO Abhijit Roy.
The paints major is also keeping an eye on the raw material prices, with India imposing an antidumping duty on titanium dioxide (a raw material in the paint industry) imports from China.
Secured second spot
Berger Paints is confident of consolidating its place as the second-largest paint maker in the country, backed by capacity expansion and widening its distribution network.
“As we see things as of now, the number 1 (Asian Paints) and number 2 player (Berger Paints) are relatively safe. The fight is for the third position between three players (Kansai Nerolac, Birla Opus and JSW+Akzo Nobel),” Roysaid in response to queries from the shareholders at the company’s AGM on Tuesday on the competitive scenario in the paints industry.
Roy said that the company has a dual job of protecting its existing market share, which is more than 20 per cent, as well as growing rapidly.
“By 2030, we should be at about ₹20,000 crore (revenue) and with that we will still retain our market share above 20 per cent and a clear number 2 player,” Roy told reporters after the AGM.
The paint major plans to invest around ₹1800 crore in greenfield projects in
Bengal and Odisha to expand capacity over the next three years.