Business
Paint sector slowdown: Early monsoon and price wars hit June quarter earnings, companies eye festive revival – Times of India
The June quarter turned out to be a muted one for India’s leading paint makers, as the early arrival of the monsoon and aggressive pricing by new entrants ate into their growth. Asian Paints, Berger Paints, Kansai Nerolac Paints and Akzo Nobel India all reported subdued numbers, though sequential improvement was visible in urban markets and realisations improved due to price hikes.Early monsoon dampens demandAsian Paints Managing Director and CEO Amit Syngle said the business saw a sharp impact from the unexpected onset of rains.“In April and May, the demand was better, but it was strongly impacted by the early monsoon. However, I think the silver lining was that we saw some shoots of demand coming up in urban areas, which were down, and we hope that it continues as we go ahead,” Syngle said, quoted PTI.The company reported a 1.19 per cent dip in standalone sales revenue to Rs 7,848.83 crore. Its volume growth stood at 3.9 per cent year-on-year, but value fell 1.2 per cent.Berger Paints CEO Abhijit Roy too pointed to the “heavier than expected monsoon towards the end of May and June,” which he said moderated growth. The company posted an 11 per cent fall in consolidated net profit at Rs 315 crore, while revenue from operations rose 3.55 per cent to Rs 3,200.76 crore.Competition squeezes marginsAlongside the weather, intensifying market rivalry weighed heavily. “The overall competition in the market is intense, with a lot of new competition coming in,” said Syngle, pointing to aggressive new players challenging incumbents in the decorative paints segment.Kansai Nerolac’s Managing Director Pravin Chaudhari also highlighted the pressure. “Overall, monsoon in many places has caused some disturbances that have led to temporary stoppages, especially in projects as well as some part of retail,” he said. The company reported a 4.12 per cent drop in consolidated net profit to Rs 215.6 crore, while revenue rose 1.35 per cent to Rs 2,162.03 crore.Akzo Nobel India, which reported a 20.6 per cent decline in net profit to Rs 91 crore, described the quarter as “stressed” due to muted consumer sentiment and competitive intensity. CMD Rajiv Rajgopal said revenue growth across top players remained “pretty flattish.”Paint makers are betting on the festive season to drive a turnaround. With Diwali coming earlier than last year, companies expect demand in August and September to improve. “Construction activity based on whatever we saw in the month of June, we believe that Q2 should be better as far as decorative is concerned,” Chaudhari added.The Rs 75,000-crore Indian paint industry remains dominated by Asian Paints, with Berger, Kansai Nerolac, Akzo Nobel, Indigo Paints, Shalimar Paints and Nippon Paints also vying for market share.
Business
Reliance Industries AGM 2025 Live Updates: Mukesh Ambani Set To Address 44 Lakh RIL Shareholders Shortly
Reliance AGM 2025 Live Updates: Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) is set to hold its 48th Annual General Meeting (AGM) today at 2:00 pm through video conferencing (VC) and other audio-visual means (OAVM). Investors will keenly watch RIL Chairman & Managing Director Mukesh Ambani’s live speech for announcements that could shape the company’s next phase of growth across its digital, retail, and energy businesses.
The event will be livestreamed across digital platforms, including YouTube, X, Facebook, Instagram, and JioEvents. The streaming will start at 2:00 pm.
(Disclaimer: Network18 and TV18 – the companies that operate news18.com – are controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.)
Vehicle breakdown specialist RAC has revealed stronger revenues and profits after it saw member numbers grow to 15 million.
The breakdown, insurance and maintenance firm reported that revenues grew by 8% to £411 million over the first half of 2025, putting it “on track” for another year of growth.
It said this included growth across each of its three main divisions.
The 128-year-old business said it is “confident” about its outlook for the rest of the year and for the longer term.
This came after membership numbers grew to 15 million from 14.1 million a year earlier.
RAC also reported that group earnings before tax, interest, depreciation and amortisation, grew by 12% to £152 million over the half-year.
The roadside assistant giant is owned by CVC Capital Partners, the Singaporean sovereign investment fund GIC and Silver Lake Partners.
Sky News reported in July that the firm’s owners were preparing to offload the business in a potential sale or stock market float, which could value the RAC at about £5 billion.
Dave Hobday, chief executive of the RAC, said: “2025 is set to be our 14th year of consecutive growth and I am delighted with our strong first-half performance and the continued progress we have made towards our vision to be the UK’s number one for driving services.
“Through our three complementary offerings: breakdown; insurance; and service, maintenance & repair; UK motorists are increasingly choosing us as their one-stop-shop at every stage of their driving journey.
“During the half-year period, we welcomed 500,000 new breakdown members and 10,000 motor insurance members, while our expanding team of mobile mechanics delivered more than double the number of repair and maintenance jobs.
“At the same time, our ongoing investment in AI, digital, and data accelerated performance across the board.”
Business
Vikran Engineering IPO Last Day: Issue Gets 6.9x Subscription So Far, Should You Apply? Check GMP
Last Updated:
Vikran Engineering GMP Today: Its grey market premium currently stands at 12.37%, indicating mild listing gains for investors.
Vikran Engineering IPO GMP.
Vikran Engineering IPO GMP: The initial public offering of Vikran Engineering Ltd, an infrastructure EPC company, is going to be closed today, Friday, August 29. The price of the Rs 772-crore IPO has been fixed in the range of Rs 92 to Rs 97 per share. Till 10:40 am on the final day of bidding on Friday, the issue received a 6.89x subscription, garnering bids for 38,38,61,976 shares as against the 5,57,11,341 shares on offer.
The retail and NII participation stood at 6.47x and 15.76x, respectively. The QIB category was subscribed by 0.97x.
The IPO’s grey market premium on Friday stood at 12.37%, indicating mild listing gains for investors.
Vikran Engineering IPO Key Dates
The IPO will remain open for public subscription between August 26, 2025, and August 29, 2025. The share allotment will likely be finalised on September 1, and the company is expected to be listed on both BSE and NSE on September 3.
Vikran Engineering IPO Price And Lot Size
The price of the IPO has been fixed in the range of Rs 92 to Rs 97 per share.
For investors, the minimum lot size for the IPO is 148. It means investors will have to apply for a minimum of 148 shares or in multiple thereof. So, retail investors require a minimum capital of Rs 14,356 to apply for the IPO.
Vikran Engineering IPO GMP Today
According to market observers, unlisted shares of Vikran Engineering Ltd are currently trading at Rs 109 against the upper IPO price of Rs 97. It means a grey market premium or GMP of Rs 12, which is 12.37% over its issue price, indicating a mild listing gains.
The GMP is based on market sentiments and keeps changing. ‘Grey market premium’ indicates investors’ readiness to pay more than the issue price.
Vikran Engineering IPO: Should You Apply?
Market experts are largely optimistic about the prospects of Vikran Engineering’s public issue. Giving a positive outlook, Anshul Jain, head of research at Lakshmishree Investment, said that Vikran Engineering’s strong execution track record with government and PSU clients, coupled with its experienced management team and exposure to a high-growth sector, make it well-placed for scalability.
Jain recommended a ‘Subscribe’ rating for long-term investors.
Shivani Nyati, head of wealth at Swastika Investmart, said the company is among the fastest-growing Indian EPC players, with a revenue CAGR of 32.17%. She highlighted its consistent growth in revenue and profitability, along with a strong order book of over Rs 2,442 crore as of June 30, 2025.
She said the IPO is fairly priced, and investors may look at it both for listing gains and long-term potential.
Brokerages including BP Equities, Arihant Capital Markets, Adroit Financial Services, AUM Capital, and Canara Bank Securities have also given a ‘subscribe’ call on the issue.
Vikran Engineering IPO: More Details
The IPO is a mix of fresh issue of shares of about Rs 721 crore and an offer-for-sale portion worth Rs 51 crore by the promoter.
The Mumbai-based company intends to utilise proceeds from the fresh issue to the tune of Rs 541 crore for funding working capital requirements and the rest for general corporate purposes.
Vikran Engineering provides end-to-end services from conceptualisation, design, supply, installation, testing, and commissioning on a turnkey basis.
As of June 30, 2025, the company completed 45 projects across 14 states with a total executed contract value of Rs 1,920 crore. It has 44 ongoing projects across 16 states, aggregating orders worth Rs 5,120 crore.
Vikran Engineering’s revenue from operations increased 16.53 per cent to Rs 916 crore in FY25 from Rs 786 crore in the previous financial year, and profit after tax rose 4 per cent to Rs 78 crore in FY25 from Rs 75 crore in FY24.
Pantomath Capital Advisors and Systematix Corporate Services are the book-running lead managers, while Bigshare Services is the registrar of the issue.
The company’s shares will be listed on the BSE and the NSE.
Haris is Deputy News Editor (Business) at news18.com. He writes on various issues related to personal finance, markets, economy and companies. Having over a decade of experience in financial journalism, Haris h…Read More
Haris is Deputy News Editor (Business) at news18.com. He writes on various issues related to personal finance, markets, economy and companies. Having over a decade of experience in financial journalism, Haris h… Read More
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