Despite soaring inflation and slump in growth, 11 Indian companies managed to buck the trend
Asian Paints -
CHEMICALS—COATINGS/PAINT
SALES $1.8 BLN
MARKET VALUE $6.3 BLN
Low-profile 70-year-old company makes a repeat appearance on the list. Despite India’s high inflation and slowing demand, posted a 10 percent jump in revenue spurred by greater sales of paint for interiors and exteriors. It operates in 17 countries. Faced tough environment in the Middle East due to the Arab Spring. But that was offset by growth in Asia.
In March, it appointed a new Managing Director and Chief Executive, KBS Anand, a career Asian Painter. Three of the four founding families still own more than half the company. Descendants Ashwin Choksi, Ashwin Dani and Abhay Vakil are regulars on the India rich list.
In the past 6 years, the company has rapidly gained market share, thanks to growth in its premium category; now sells 53 percent of the paint sold by listed paint companies. But it’s heading into difficult times because of the slowdown in consumption of discretionary items. Frequent price hikes are also likely to hit volume. Asian Paints has consistently raised prices over the past three years because of raw material price increases.
Number of times the company appears in previous year’s list =1
(This story appears in the 12 October, 2012 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)