Berger Paints eyes Rs 10,000 crore in revenues aided by margin, new products

Berger Paints revenues may cross Rs 10,000 crore this year, boosted by an increase in the margins in the third and fourth quarter, said Abhijit Roy, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer at India's second-largest paint manufacturer by market share. Berger is also working on enhancing the reach of its products and distribution network with a focus to improve positioning in the luxury segment, Roy added.

“We want to build up our brand in any case. Our positioning in the luxury segment needs to be improved a little bit. So that we will do irrespective of whether someone enters or not,” Roy told CNBC-TV18 on Thursday.

Both Asian Paints and Berger Paints are gaining shares at the expense of number three and number four players in the industry as the competition in the paint sector is poised to heat up with the entry of Grasim.

The big differentiator for Berger Paints is that the company is working on its distribution reach and its products, Roy said.

Not just network, Berger is launching a few innovative products into construction chemical space, Roy added.

“In the construction chemical space, we have introduced two very interest products which are to be used before painting."

With the Brent crude prices now cooling significantly and the festive season around the corner, Roy hopes to see a strong growth rate in the second quarter.

“Demand seems to be fairly good. Given the current situation, paint as a category, should be doing quite well."

Roy isn’t worried about competition as there is enough space in the paint industry. He hasn’t had any serious threats from the competition so far.

“We continue to do whatever we were doing and I don’t think we need to be overly worried,” he said.

Roy expects the revenue to cross Rs 10,000 crore this year.

Margins are expected to be good in quarter three and quarter four if everything remains as is currently.

“There will be an increase in the margins in quarter three and quarter four,” he said.

The stock has seen a 15.93 percent slip this year and is down 22.06 percent from its 52-week high.