The state-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) announced in a regulatory filing on Tuesday that it had raised its ownership of Asian Paints from 5.001% to 7.01%. LIC acquired shares of the paint giant on the open market between January 1, 2024, and December 9, 2024, at an average price of ₹2,891.25 per share, increasing its ownership by 2.009%. With the purchase of 1,92,74,225 shares, LIC now owns 6,72,40,527 shares of the company’s paid-up equity capital.
LIC’s Increased Stake in Asian Paints
The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) declared that it has bought shares in Asian Paints on the open market for an average of ₹2,891.25 each, increasing its ownership to 7%. As part of its regular business operations, LIC said that this acquisition was consistent with its investment plan and that its stake in Asian Paints had increased from 5.001% to 7.010 percent. This action shows that LIC has faith in the company’s capacity for sustained growth.
Asian Paints Financials
Asian Paints’ consolidated net profit fell 42.4% year-on-year (YoY) to ₹694.64 crore in the September quarter of FY25, resulting in poor Q2 performance. In Q2FY25, the company’s revenue decreased 5.3% to ₹8,003.02 crore from ₹8,451.93 crore in the same quarter the previous year. Asian Paints’ managing director and CEO, Amit Syngle, emphasized that the paint sector encountered a muted demand environment throughout the quarter.
According to him, dampened consumer attitudes as well as prolonged rains and floods in some regions of the country contributed to a 5.5% reduction in domestic coatings revenue for the quarter, while the company’s domestic decorative coatings segment volumes decreased slightly.
Asian Paints Q2 FY25 Performance
Asian Paints reported a 42.4% drop in net profit for the second quarter of FY25, from Rs 1,232 crore to Rs 694.64 crore. The main cause of the 5.3% decline in net sales from 8,479 crore to Rs 8,003.02 crore was the poor demand, which was made worse by prolonged monsoons and flooding in several areas. While rural performance was comparatively better, urban areas experienced considerable stress. Additionally, the company’s business volumes for decorative paints decreased by 0.5%.
