1–2 minutes
🔍 Observations
Topline
- Revenue from operations grew 5.0% YoY (₹33,906 Cr → ₹35,584 Cr FY26); Q4 alone surged 10.6% YoY, signalling Q4 acceleration after a sluggish first half.
- Decorative paints India (~84% of consolidated revenue) remains the primary driver; international business (+8.9% YoY to ₹3,340 Cr) added meaningful incremental contribution.
- Other income jumped 26.4% YoY (₹573 Cr → ₹724 Cr), partly cushioning operating pressure — a non-trivial ₹724 Cr on a ₹35,584 Cr revenue base.
Bottomline
- Reported PAT rose 18.4% YoY (₹3,710 Cr → ₹4,395 Cr FY26); Q4 PAT up 69.3% YoY (₹701 Cr → ₹1,185 Cr), aided by the base effect of ₹183 Cr exceptional items in Q4FY25.
- Exceptional items (₹158 Cr in FY26 vs. ₹365 Cr in FY25) largely impairments on international/home décor subsidiaries — lower drag this year inflates apparent YoY PAT improvement.
- Effective tax rate held steady at ~26.8% (FY26: ₹1,609 Cr on PBT ₹6,003 Cr vs. ~27.3% in FY25).
Margins
- PBDIT margin expanded ~110 bps YoY (17.8% → 18.9% on net sales); raw material cost ratio improved — materials consumed fell from ₹15,794 Cr to ₹15,384 Cr despite ~5% revenue growth, implying meaningful gross margin recovery.
- Net profit margin (PAT/Revenue from ops): 12.4% FY26 vs. 10.9% FY25 — a clean 150 bps expansion, driven by operating leverage and lower input costs.
- Employee costs (+7.8% YoY) and other expenses (+5.2% YoY) grew broadly in line with revenue — cost discipline holding.
Growth Trajectory
- FY26 topline growth (5.0%) is the slowest in several years — volume-led growth story partially stalled amid competitive intensity from Birla Opus and muted urban demand.
- Q4 re-acceleration (+10.6% revenue, +24.4% PBDIT) is encouraging but must sustain through H1FY27 to confirm a structural recovery rather than base-effect rebound.
- Home décor (Kitchen + Bath) remains loss-making at PBIT level (combined ~₹19 Cr loss in FY26 vs. ~₹51 Cr in FY25) — improvement trajectory present but dilutive to consolidated ROCE.