Asian Paints Hikes The Prices by 4-5 Percent

Asian Paints has hiked its prices by 4-5 percent close on the heels of a record 7-10 percent increase. “The company has increased the price by 10 percent from December but, due to various schemes, the effective rise would be only 4-5 percent,” said one of the dealers. The company confirmed the move but refused to disclose the quantum of price hikes taken. Paint companies have been battling high inputs costs for more than a year now, which has impacted their margins. “Asian Paints has a clear strategy of being proactive in price hikes to expand margins on quarter-on-quarter basis unlike in Q2FY22 when its margins were at a multi-year low,” said Abneesh Roy, Executive Director, Edelweiss Securities. “We continue to expect that in Q4FY22, Asian Paints will be back to 18-20 percent EBITDA margin, Q3FY22 is also likely to be much better than Q2FY22,” he said.