Berger Paints reports a 91% fall in its profit — weakest quarter in at least a decade

• Berger Paints reported around 91% fall in its consolidated net profit to ₹15.09 crore for the first quarter ended June 30.
• The total revenue was down 46% year-on-year to ₹928.59 crore during the period.
• According to the stock exchange filings, Berger’s employee cost for the quarter jumped nearly 4% to ₹ 116.21 crore.

One of India’s largest multinational paint companies Berger Paints earnings reflect the lockdown pain, as expected. The company reported around 91% fall in its consolidated net profit to ₹15.09 crore for the first quarter ended June 30.

The total revenue was down 46% year-on-year to ₹928.59 crore during the period, the company said.


This is the first time that Berger Paints has registered a massive negative growth in the first quarter in at least a decade.

The quarter is usually brimming with the business for paint manufacturers. With the arrival of the traditional wedding season, people go all out of the decorative paints segment. However, that was not the case this year. This time around, many of the manufacturing units of Berger were shut due to the pandemic. And even post easing of the lockdown, people refrained from allowing painters into their houses. However, the employee cost kept on piling up. According to the stock exchange filings, Berger’s employee cost for the quarter jumped nearly 4% to ₹ 116.21 crore.

Berger witnessed nearly a washout quarter with no sales in April and a slight recovery in June and July. However, with lesser COVID-19 impact in the rural areas, the sales from the small cities have helped ease the pain for the company.

Berger share price ended nearly a percent lower ahead of the earnings, as investors had already priced in a washout quarter.

SEE ALSO: Eicher Motors registers first-ever net loss of ₹55 crore in at least a decade

Masayoshi Son’s best bet for future profit is PayPay in Japan⁠ — built on Vijay Shekhar Sharma’s Paytm model in India