JSW Dulux

By Urvi Dugar

BENGALURU, May 15 (Reuters) - Indian paint maker JSW Dulux JSWD.NS expects to log double-digit volume growth in fiscal year 2027 but warned margins will face pressure in the near term due to volatile input costs related to Middle East uncertainty, a top executive told Reuters on Friday.

The warning highlights how increases in crude oil-linked raw material costs increases related to the war in the Middle East are squeezing profitability across India's paint sector even as demand stays robust. The higher costs are forcing paint makers to hike prices, while disruptions in gas supply are also taking a toll on production.

"There are challenges… a lot of the workshops are not running full steam because of non-availability of gas," CEO Rajiv Rajgopal said, adding demand softness could become clearer from mid-June through July.

Dulux raised prices about 10% between March and May, but margins remain under pressure as oil-linked cost increases outpaced product price hikes. Oil prices have risen sharply since the conflict began in February and Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were trading at $107.49 a barrel at 0642 GMT on Friday.

The impact has so far been limited on JSW Dulux's bottom line. On Wednesday, it posted a roughly 16% rise in March quarter net profit from a year ago while logging volume growth of about 7% for fiscal 2026.

Rajgopal said it was too early to assess any slowdown in discretionary home improvement demand.

The paint maker, which competes with the likes of Asian Paints ASPN.NS and Grasim Industries' GRAS.NS Birla Opus, is ramping up its mid-market presence and targeting mass urban consumers to counter intensifying competition, a move that could weigh on margins in the short term, he added.

Now part of the JSW Group after last year's $1.6 billion acquisition of a 75% stake from Dutch firm Akzo Nobel AKZO.AS, JSW Dulux expects integration benefits after the merger to support margins from the second half of fiscal year 2027.

(Reporting by Urvi Dugar in Bengaluru; Editing by Chandini Monnappa and Ronojoy Mazumdar)

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** Shares of major Indian paint makers rise between 1.4% and 6.5%

** Asian Paints ASPN.NS rises 5.1%, Berger Paints India BRGR.NS up 3.1%, Kansai Nerolac Paints KANE.NS climbs 5.2%, Akzo Nobel India AKZO.NS up 1.2%, and Indigo Paints INDG.NS rises 6.4%

** Benchmark Brent crude LCOc1 falls below $100/barrel after the U.S. announces a two-week ceasefire with Iran that was subject to immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz O/R

** Falling crude prices are a positive for paint makers which count the commodity as a major raw material

** ASPN and BRGR almost fully recoups losses ever since the Iran war started, hitting their highest level in over one month

** KANE and INDG touches their highest in almost a month

** All five paint makers collectively lost ~65% in March, as escalating conflict in the Middle East and supply disruption concerns triggered wild swings in oil prices

** India stock benchmark Nifty 50 .NSEI jumps 3.3% to its highest since March 11

(Reporting by Pranav Kashyap in Bengaluru)

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March 13 (Reuters) - JSW Dulux Ltd AKZO.NS:

• TAX DEPARTMENT REVISES TAX DEMAND TO 15 MILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSE84yLwy

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** Asian Paints ASPN.NS up 1.6%, Akzo Nobel India AKZO.NS rises ~2%, Berger Paints India BRGR.NS gains 1%, Kansai Nerolac Paints KANE.NS adds 0.2%

** Oil, a key raw material for paints, falls after hitting more than three-year high on Monday, as Donald Trump said Middle East war could end soon, easing concerns about prolonged disruptions to global oil supplies

** Crude down after seven straight sessions of rise

** Brent LCOc1 sheds 5.2% to $93.84/barrel

** YTD, KANE down ~21%, ASPN falls 18.4%, BRGR sheds 17.7%, AKZO slips 13.6%

(Reporting by Anuran Sadhu in Bengaluru)

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March 9 (Reuters) - Akzo Nobel India Ltd AKZO.NS:

• GOT TAX ASSESSMENT ORDER PROPOSING ADDITIONS OF 1.12 BILLION RUPEES TO INCOME OF CO

• EXPECTED FINANCIAL IMPACT CANNOT BE DETERMINED AT THIS STAGE

Source text: ID:nNSE5HX2fg

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** Shares of Indian paint companies fall between 1% and 3% as crude oil, a key raw material, prices surge

** Asian Paints ASPN.NS down 3%, Kansai Nerolac Paints KANE.NS down 2.4%, Akzo Nobel India AKZO.NS down 1%

** Middle East conflict pushes crude prices higher, with Brent crude futures climbing to about $82.40 a barrel, their highest in 14 months O/R

** Antique Stockbroking forecasts Brent crude to average $80-85/barrel this quarter if conflict persists

** Brokerage says 10% increase in crude could result in 200 to 250 bps gross margin contraction for ASPN & KANE as crude derivatives account for 40-45% of raw material

(Reporting by Mridula Kumar in Bengaluru)

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Feb 2 (Reuters) - Akzo Nobel India Ltd AKZO.NS:

• AKZO NOBEL INDIA DEC-QUARTER CONSOL NET PROFIT 743 MILLION RUPEES

• AKZO NOBEL INDIA DEC-QUARTER CONSOL REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 9.08 BILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSEbWXh0d

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Jan 9 (Reuters) - Akzo Nobel India Ltd AKZO.NS:

• RAJIV RAJGOPAL RE-DESIGNATED AS JOINT MANAGING DIRECTOR & CEO

• PARTH JINDAL APPOINTED AS CHAIRMAN

Source text: ID:nNSE2KQYmF

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Jan 8 (Reuters) - Akzo Nobel India Ltd AKZO.NS:

• GETS TOTAL TAX DEMAND OF 39.5 MILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSE59vK76

Further company coverage: AKZO.NS

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Dec 12 (Reuters) - Akzo Nobel India Ltd AKZO.NS:

• AKZO NOBEL INDIA LTD - PROMOTER AKZO NOBEL COATINGS INTERNATIONA SELLS 24.30% STAKE IN CO TO JSW PAINTS

Source text: ID:nBSE9Nn64Y

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Aug 26 (Reuters) - Akzo Nobel India Ltd AKZO.NS:

• RECEIVES AMNESTY ORDER FROM KARNATAKA GST DEPARTMENT

Source text: ID:nBSE3NkTy0

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July 9 (Reuters) - Asian Paints ASPN.NS, India's largest paintmaker by market share, said on Wednesday that it has sold its entire stake in smaller rival Akzo Nobel India AKZO.NS via bulk deals.

(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru)

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June 28 (Reuters) - Akzo Nobel India Ltd AKZO.NS:

• AKZO NOBEL INDIA SAYS IT RECEIVED TAX DEMAND NOTICES WITH FINANCIAL IMPLICATION OF $2.1 MILLION - STATEMENT

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June 27 (Reuters) - Akzo Nobel India Ltd AKZO.NS:

• AKZO NOBEL INDIA LTD - PROMOTERS EXECUTE SHARE PURCHASE AGREEMENT WITH JSW PAINTS

• AKZO NOBEL INDIA LTD - SELLERS AGREE TO SELL ENTIRE SHAREHOLDING IN AKZO NOBEL INDIA TO JSW PAINTS

• AKZO NOBEL INDIA LTD - JSW PAINTS REQUIRED TO MAKE OPEN OFFER UNDER SEBI REGULATIONS

• AKZO NOBEL INDIA LTD - IMPERIAL CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES HOLDS 50.46% OF AKZO NOBEL INDIA

• AKZO NOBEL INDIA LTD - PER SHARE PRICE UNDER SPA IS 2,762.05 RUPEES

• AKZO NOBEL INDIA - JSW WILL ACQUIRE SOLE CONTROL OF COMPANY, RESULTING IN CHANGE IN CONTROL OF LISTED ENTITY

• AKZO NOBEL INDIA LTD - JSW PAINTS MAY HOLD UP TO 75% OF AKZO NOBEL INDIA POST DEAL

Source text: ID:nBSE74bTbG

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May 16 (Reuters) - Akzo Nobel India Ltd AKZO.NS:

• REPORTS NO NEW INFORMATION FROM PARENT COMPANY

Source text: ID:nBSE25nblp

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By Hritam Mukherjee

BENGALURU, May 13 (Reuters) - India's top paint maker, Asian Paints ASPN.NS, has lost more market share than analysts expected to rival Grasim Industries GRAS.NS in the year since billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla's ambitious paints venture was launched, according to Elara Securities data shared exclusively with Reuters.

Asian Paints' market share fell to 52% from 59% in the 12 months ending March 31, Elara Securities data shows, raising the pressure on the industry leader to spend more on marketing and discounts to retain its crown.

Birla Opus' market share reached 6.8% in the latest quarter.

"Whenever a new entrant comes, its strategies are aggressive. But this time, the scale is much bigger," said Geojit Financial Services analyst Antu Thomas, who had expected Grasim to gain only 1%-2% in market share from Asian Paints.

Birla Opus, which is the paints arm of the Aditya Birla Group company Grasim, has borrowed heavily from Asian Paints' playbook to gain ground in the $9.5 billion sector that also features Berger Paints BRGR.NS, Kansai Nerolac KANE.NS, Indigo Paints INDG.NS and Akzo Nobel India AKZO.NS.

After its February 2024 launch with an investment of 100 billion rupees ($1.18 billion), it expanded the paint sector's capacity at a pace never seen before, analysts said.

It offered deep discounts to lure paint dealers, hired mid-level managers from Asian Paints, and set up factories near its entrenched rival's units, according to Reuters interviews with paint dealers and former Asian Paints employees.

"Asian Paints formed 70% of my annual paints sales in 2023. In 2024, the share was 30%," said Sunny Rahman, a paint dealer in the eastern city of Kolkata, who switched brands to take advantage of lower prices.

The moves have hurt Asian Paints, which reported a larger-than-expected 45% drop in fourth-quarter profit last week and warned that demand conditions were at their worst in decades.

"In a market which is already slow, the intensity of competitive action has been much more," Asian Paints CEO Amit Syngle said on the post-earnings conference call. "I think it is a double-whammy."

INTENSIFYING BATTLE

Asian Paints did not respond to requests seeking further comment.

Birla Opus CEO Rakshit Hargave told Reuters his company had no plans to slow down.

"Our objective is to gain market share, and I think, in the plan that we have, we have built in for the fact that we will do so," Hargave said. He denied the location of Birla Opus factories was decided based on proximity to Asian Paints' units and said Birla Opus was hiring across the sector.

Industry watchers expect the market share battle to intensify further this year, with analysts at ICICI Securities flagging "downside risks" to Asian Paints' outlook calling for EBITDA margin (operating profitability) of 18%-20%.

"The way forward for Asian Paints is not to take steep discounts. It will do well by introducing more products with differential value," Thomas said.

($1 = 84.8530 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai, Subrata Nag Choudhury in Kolkata and Sumit Khanna in Ahmedabad; Editing by Dhanya Skariachan and Lincoln Feast.)

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** Shares of Asian Paints ASPN.NS 0.3% lower ahead of Q4 results, while rivals are flat to higher

** Analysts expect revenue to be flattish due to weak product mix, leading to a 14% drop in profit, per LSEG data

** Higher ad spend due to competition and costlier raw materials to hurt margins, analysts say

** Paint companies, overall, face weak demand

** Kansai Nerolac KANE.NS posted a surprise drop in Q4 profit

** Analysts on avg rate Asian Paints, Nerolac and Berger BRGR.NS "hold"; Akzo Nobel India AKZO.NS is "buy" -LSEG

** Nerolac shares flat on the day, Berger and Akzo Nobel slightly higher

** YTD, Asian Paints up 2%, while Berger has jumped 22%; on flip side, Akzo is down 2% and Nerolac ~4%

(Reporting by Aleef Jahan in Bengaluru)

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** Indian paint makers Asian Paints ASPN.NS, Berger Paints India BRGR.NS, Akzo Nobel India AKZO.NS and Kansai Nerolac KANE.NS climb between 1% and 2%

** Brent crude futures LCOc1 fell to their lowest since December 2021 in previous session before steadying on Thursday, still trading near multi-year low levels O/R

** Fall in oil prices benefits paint makers, who count crude as a major raw material

** Both ASPN and KANE gain ~2%, while BRGR and AKZO climb 1.3% and 1.2%, respectively

** AKZO only major paint maker rated "buy" on avg, rest rated "hold" - data compiled by LSEG

** KANE's 12% YTD drop biggest, followed by AKZO's 11% slide and ASPN's 4% decline

** BRGR only major paint maker to log YTD gains, up 9.3%

(Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru)

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March 3 (Reuters) - Akzo Nobel India Ltd AKZO.NS:

• GETS TOTAL TAX DEMAND ORDER FOR 15.8 MILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSE4NnMSC

Further company coverage: AKZO.NS

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Feb 24 (Reuters) - Akzo Nobel NV AKZO.AS:

• TO SEPARATE POWDER COATINGS BUSINESS FROM ITS INDIAN SUBSIDIARY

• MADE OFFER TO ACQUIRE POWDER COATINGS OPERATIONS, INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH CENTER FROM AKZO NOBEL INDIA LIMITED

• AKZONOBEL INDIA WILL SEEK ITS SHAREHOLDERS' APPROVAL IN COMING WEEKS, WITH VOTING PROCESS EXPECTED TO CONCLUDE ONE MONTH LATER

• BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF AKZONOBEL INDIA HAS ACCEPTED AKZONOBEL'S OFFER

Further company coverage: AKZO.AS

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Rewrites with management commentary from post-earnings call

By Hritam Mukherjee

Feb 7 (Reuters) - Akzo Nobel India AKZO.NS said on Friday it expects the demand for paints to recover from the second half of the year after the effects of the federal budget's consumption-boosting proposals filter through essential items before influencing discretionary purchases.

Last week, the government dished out its biggest income tax relief in at least a decade, hoping that higher disposable incomes would boost demand and consumption, thereby lifting the economy.

However, the effects of that on the demand for discretionary items such as paints will only start from the second half of this year, Akzo Nobel Chairman and Managing Director Rajiv Rajgopal said in a post-earnings call.

Earlier in the day, the 'Dulux' paintmaker reported a 5% fall in consolidated third-quarter net profit to 1.09 billion rupees ($12.47 million) as its 2% increase in its revenue was outweighed by a 2.3% rise in expenses.

Paintmakers saw weak demand from retail consumers who are choosing cheaper brands in the face of high inflation, analysts say and demand forecasts by paint companies have been mixed so far.

While market leader Asian Paints ASPN.NS missed earnings estimates and issued a grim demand outlook, Kansai Nerolac KANE.NS said it also expects the lower income tax rates to increase demand.

Akzo Nobel India's larger peers, Grasim Industries GRAS.NS and Berger Paints BRGR.NS, are due to report their results next week.

(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee and Ashna Teresa Britto in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)

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Updates with earnings details, analyst comment in paragraph 3, and background

Feb 4 (Reuters) - India's Asian Paints ASPN.NS missed third-quarter profit estimates on Tuesday, though stronger-than-expected volume growth in its core domestic decorative business lifted its shares by 5%.

The paintmaker's consolidated net profit during October-December slumped 23% to 11.11 billion rupees ($127.6 million) year-on-year, slightly below analysts' average estimate of 11.31 billion rupees, as per data compiled by LSEG.

The 1.6% volume growth in the decorative business was higher than our expectations of a 1% this quarter, said Antu Thomas, a research analyst at brokerage Geojit Financial Services.

Asian Paints, India's largest paintmaker by market share, was among the top percentage gainers in the benchmark Nifty 50 .NSEI.

Shares of the company jumped 5% following the results but pared early gains, trading up 2.5% at 2,352 rupees.

Revenue from operations dropped 6% to 85.49 billion rupees, and came in below market expectations of 89.19 billion rupees.

Asian Paints is the first among its peers to report quarterly results. Kansai Nerolac KANE.NS and Akzo Nobel India AKZO.NS are slated to report their earnings later this week.

Over the last few quarters, Asian Paints has been grappling with increased competition following Grasim Industries' GRAS.NS entry in the sector, while inflation-strained shoppers tightened their purse strings and opted for cheaper private labels.

($1 = 87.0550 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

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Jan 10 (Reuters) - Akzo Nobel India Ltd AKZO.NS:

• GETS GST ORDER WITH TOTAL LIABILITY OF 2.4 MILLION RUPEES

Further company coverage: AKZO.NS

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** Shares of Akzo Nobel India Ltd AKZO.NS jump 6.4% to 3,639.20 rupees

** Berger Paints BRGR.NS looking to acquire Akzo Nobel's 74.6% stake in Indian unit, CNBC-TV18 reports, citing sources

** Stock was up 1.8% before the news

** JSW Paints, Indigo Paints INDG.NS also eyeing stake - CNBC-TV18

** Report comes a day after AKZO said its Dutch parent requested co to explore sale of some businesses

** Companies mentioned did not immediately respond to mailed requests for comment

** Shares of BRGR and INDG up 0.9% and 1.5%, respectively; AKZO's Amsterdam-listed parent Akzo Nobel NV AKZO.AS rises 0.9%

** AKZO's market valuation is 164.25 billion rupees ($1.9 billion) while BRGR's is 3x

** Analysts on avg rate AKZO, INDG "buy", BRGR "hold" - data compiled by LSEG

** AKZO is down 5% since first reports in October of interest in co

($1 = 85.6830 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru)

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Jan 6 (Reuters) - Akzo Nobel India Ltd AKZO.NS:

• AKZO NOBEL NV REQUESTS EXPLORATION OF POWDER COATINGS BUSINESS SALE

• AKZO NOBEL NV REQUESTS EXPLORATION OF DECORATIVE PAINTS IP ACQUISITION

• BOARD AUTHORIZES MANAGEMENT TO EXPLORE POTENTIAL TRANSACTIONS

Source text: ID:nBSE4SQlNQ

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** Akzo Nobel India AKZO.NS gains as much as 8.6% to 3768 rupees

** Pidilite Industries PIDI.NS, JSW Paints and Indigo Paints INDG.NS in race for stake in Amsterdam-based Akzo Nobel's AKZO.AS Indian arm, Mint reports

** Deal to sell 74.6% stake values Indian arm at $2.1 bln-$2.5 bln, report adds

** Stock sees biggest pct gain since Oct. 31, day after Mint reported AKZO is looking to sell its Indian unit

** More than 137,000 shares traded, 6.5x the 30-day avg

** AKZO India last up 7.5%, extends YTD gains to ~43%

($1 = 84.9220 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Ananta Agarwal in Bengaluru)

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Nov 27 (Reuters) - Akzo Nobel India Ltd AKZO.NS:

• GETS SHOW CAUSE NOTICE OF TAX DUE OF 19.2 MILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSEKyRJ1

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Nov 26 (Reuters) - Akzo Nobel India Ltd AKZO.NS:

• AKZO NOBEL INDIA - GETS SHOW CAUSE NOTICE OVER TAX DEMAND OF 19.2 MILLION RUPEES

Source text: [ID:]

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Nov 22 (Reuters) - Akzo Nobel India Ltd AKZO.NS:

• APPROVED SALE CO'S IMMOVABLE PROPERTIES NOT BEING PUT FOR PRODUCTIVE USE

Source text: ID:nBSE9Bkkrs

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Oct 30 (Reuters) - Akzo Nobel India Ltd AKZO.NS:

• AKZO NOBEL INDIA LTD - GETS TAX ORDER FOR DEMAND AT 377.2 MILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSE79K8tN

Further company coverage: AKZO.NS

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