Asian Paints, Berger, Kansai Nerolac: How are paintmakers expected to fare in Q3?

Moreover, some makers also reported cumulative price increases of 1.5-2% after the country's paint sector saw aggressive discounting due to new entrants.

Companies such as Asian Paints, Kansai Nerolac, Berger, and AkzoNobel India, in their latest earnings calls, mentioned the impact on their topline from the extended monsoon in the second quarter, although there was an uptick in sales from September.

Expecting a steady uptick in consumption in the second half (H1) of FY26, led by factors such as a good monsoon and GST relief, among others, paint makers will continue to invest in innovations and in advertising and promotion.

They further said November and December will see improvement in margins, assisted by benign material prices.

"The industry, in Q2, just grew about 3.5-4 per cent. So, it's not been something which has been really great. Monsoon was the spoilsport, and the festive window was also small," said Asian Paints MD & CEO Amit Syngle in an investors' call.

However, Syngle also said he witnessed "green shoots" in the months of September and October 2025.

"We are also seeing that as we go ahead, there is a very strong marriage season, which is going to provide support. We have had good monsoons, which would augur well for possibly some growth in terms of the rural markets. And finally, I think GST corrections would create an uptick in the consumption," he said.

Syngle cautiously said, "We need to be a little bit conservative in terms of seeing how the overall environment kind of augurs out as we look at the next three months and the six months."

Overall, the "competitive intensity" will remain in the market, with all players putting their best foot forward in terms of what they are doing.

Here is how market leader Asian Paints fared in Q2 FY26

Asian Paints reported an increase of 46.8% in consolidated net profit at ₹1,018.23 crore in the September quarter of FY26.

The company had logged a net profit of ₹693.66 crore during the July-September period a year ago, according to a regulatory filing by Asian Paints.

Its revenue from sales was up 6.38% to ₹8,513.70 crore in the September quarter of FY26. It was at ₹8,003.02 crore in the corresponding period a year ago.

Kansai Nerolac

Kansai Nerolac Paints, which also faced continued rain disruptions in the second quarter of FY26, had a "slight uptick" towards the back end of September.

It expects consumption demand "to pick up steadily in the second half of the fiscal year", helped by supportive economic measures.

Replying to a query, its Managing Director, Pravin Chaudhari, said in October there might be some challenges, but he said he is hopeful of an uplift in demand in November and December.

"So we are hoping that in November and December, we will see some kind of uptick. But I think looking at the trend that we are seeing, I believe quarter 4 should be far better in terms of the growth prospects, both for decorative and industrial," he said during the company's earnings conference call.

As the paint and coating space is getting more competitive, Chaudhari said Kansai Nerolac have been maintaining a balanced portfolio.

"...we are facing very heavy competition in the decorative segment. So, as far as we are concerned, while we are definitely going to protect our decorative market, which we are trying to do through the last two quarters, we will make calculated investments in our strong markets and improve our product mix and not get into products that are actually low or almost zero profit. So that's a clear strategy," he said.

For the September quarter, Kansai Nerolac posted an 11.3% rise in consolidated net profit to ₹133.31, though its revenue from operations was flat at ₹1,954.18 crore.

Berger Paints

Berger Paints India MD & CEO Abhijit Roy also expects growth in November and December.

"With demand picking up, we expect that with the pent-up demand being there, sales should improve," he said while replying to a question.

Berger Paints also expects improvement of gross margin in the short term, aided by benign raw material prices and improving product mix.

On being asked about the fierce competition in the domestic paint market, Roy said, it continues; however, the intensity has stabilised in the marketplace.

"...the type of market share that they (new players) were taking away from the industry, that will get moderated completely, and the impact, therefore, will be less on the existing players going forward," he said.

Berger's consolidated revenue from operations was up 1.9% to ₹2,827.49 crore in the September quarter of FY26, though profit was down 23.5% to ₹206.4 crore.

AkzoNobel India

AkzoNobel India CMD Rajiv Rajgopal said the sector has a cumulative price correction in the region of about 1.5-2 per cent. The sector has seen aggressive discounting because of the new entrants which have come in.

"I see next quarter definitely as a double-digit growth quarter for volumes and high single-digit for revenue," Rajgopal said.

Indian paint industry

Asian Paints, Berger Paints, and Kansai Nerolac dominate the Indian paint industry, collectively accounting for more than three-fourths of the market, according to reports.

Over the past five to six years, the sector has witnessed the entry of several new players, including Pidilite’s Haisha Paints, Grasim’s Birla Opus, and JSW Paints.

While Asian Paints continues to lead the market, other prominent brands include Berger, Kansai Nerolac, Akzo Nobel India (Dulux), Indigo Paints, Shalimar Paints, and Nippon Paints.

How shares are faring on Monday, December 8

All paint stocks were trading in negative territory in the morning trade on Monday. Asian Paints was trading 0.77% lower at ₹2,945.60 on the NSE, while Berger Paints India was down 1.5% at ₹546.30. Kansai Nerolac Paints was trading 0.33% lower at ₹227.35 on the NSE.