Pidilite Industries tumbles more than 6.5% ahead of third-quarter results

Pidilite is expected to report an expansion in gross margin at approximately 800-1000 basis points year-on-year. The street also expects EBITDA margins to stay in the company's guided 20–24% band.

Pidilite reported a 35.7% year-on-year (YoY) jump in net profit at ₹458.5 crore for the second quarter that ended September 30, 2023. The CNBC-TV18 poll had predicted a profit of ₹456 crore for the quarter under review. Pidilite Industries posted a net profit of ₹337.8 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

The company's revenue from operations increased by 2.2% to ₹3,076 crore against ₹3,011.2 crore in the year-ago period, falling short of the CNBC-TV18 poll prediction of ₹3,162 crore for the quarter under review.

In early November, the company announced its foray into the lending arena, surprising the Street. The move is aimed at providing small-value retail loans to support its ecosystem and included the acquisition of the promoter-owned NBFC, Pargro Investments, for a fair asset value of ₹10 crore, with an anticipated investment of ₹100 crore over the next two years through debt and equity.