Indigo Paints Ltd

Reflections. Milestones. Momentum.

Our focus on delivering delight through purposeful innovation and curated differentiation continues to shape our journey and sets the stage for long-term value creation.

In reflecting upon FY 2024–25, I take pride in noting that Indigo Paints has continued to exemplify resilience, innovation and disciplined execution, even in a year marked by tepid industry demand. We confronted external adversities with robust profitability, operational rigour, our differentiated portfolio, strategic investments and a dedicated team acting as the pillar of our stability and growth.

Our focus on delivering delight through purposeful innovation and curated differentiation continues to shape our journey and sets the stage for long-term value creation.

On a standalone basis, our revenue from operations stood at H1,227.19 Cr, registering a measured growth of 1.78% growth over the previous fiscal. This is a commendable outcome amid an industry landscape that remained largely stagnant. We sustained our industry-leading gross margin at 46.52%, reaffirming the inherent strength of our product architecture and disciplined cost management. EBITDA stood at H 231.57 Cr, translating to a margin of 18.13% and our PAT for the year came in at H143.94 Cr, yielding a PAT margin of 11.12%.

On a consolidated basis, we recorded a revenue of H1,340.67 Cr, a 2.65% increase over FY 2024-25. Despite margin pressures from an adverse product mix in our subsidiary Apple Chemie, we maintained overall EBITDA of H 233.48 Cr and a PAT of H142.16 Cr. During the year, elevated personnel costs and a relatively higher trade discounting weighed on our margins. However, we remain confident of a gradual recovery as macroeconomic conditions and consumer sentiment improve.

Our advertising and promotion (A&P) spending was managed judiciously, tapering from 7.4% of revenue in FY 2023-24 to 6.4% in FY 2024-25. We pivoted our outreach strategy to focus more on digital and below-the-line activities, enhancing cost-effectiveness without compromising impact.

We continue to advance on along a growth pathway defined by four strategic pillars: innovation, geographic expansion, capacity augmentation and product portfolio diversification.

We are expediting capital deployment to broaden our manufacturing footprint. At Jodhpur, civil works are underway for two upcoming facilities. A water-based paint unit with a capacity of 90,000 KLPA and a solvent-based paint facility of 12,000 KLPA. The water-based plant is envisioned to be commissioned in the latter part of FY 2025-26. The solvent-based plant and brownfield expansion of our putty facility remain on course for commissioning by early FY 2025-26. It is worth noting that our current capacities remain adequate to cater to the prevailing market demand.

Our differentiated product portfolio remained a strong contributor, accounting for a substantial 28.2% of revenue. Within this segment, premium emulsions and wood coatings continued to showcase positive value growth, even as categories such as putty faced headwinds from intensified competitive pricing.

We are also widening our presence across Tier I and Tier II cities while accelerating dealer engagement and contractor networks. By year-end our active dealer base stood at 18,371, supported by an upwards of 11,000 tinting machine installations. We are now directing our efforts towards regaining growth momentum by expanding our distribution footprint and enhancing dealer throughput through precise, data-driven interventions.

Our foray into the construction chemicals and waterproofing segment led by Apple Chemie and our in-house Protect Plus series continues to gather momentum. The segment under Indigo brand contributed a healthy contributed a healthy mid-single-digit share to our revenue. While margin compression challenged Apple Chemie's performance in the initial half of the year, the second half witnessed a decisive turnaround. We are confident of sustaining this upward trend with a progressively refined product mix and sharpened strategic focus.

In parallel, we are strengthening our brand presence through precise digital targeting, contractor engagement and impactful campaigns. Despite a rationalised A&P outlay in FY25, we retained our position among the top advertisers in the sector relative to topline scale.

Sustainability remains an integral thread in our growth narrative. We have operationalised rooftop solar panels at our head office in Pune and completed installation at our Cochin factory, which is currently pending regulatory clearance. These initiatives are part of our broader commitment to climate responsibility objectives.

We have also scaled our CSR initiatives significantly. Through the Indigo Seva Utsav, we repainted over125 government schools across Tier II and III towns in India, with enthusiastic involvement from the painter community. Our enduring support for girl child education near Pune continued to make a tangible impact, benefiting more than 320 students. Our Painter Health Benefit programme now extends coverage to over 25,000 families nationwide. Further strengthening our community engagement, we have unveiled the Indigo SkillUp Programme to equip painters with soft skills and business development capabilities to nurture holistic empowerment beyond technical training.

FY 2024-25 was a period of pause and recalibration for the industry at large. Encouragingly, we are already witnessing early signs of recovery. Q1 FY 2025-26 has commenced on a more positive note and we anticipate demand to normalise by the second quarter. With input costs moderating and a clear consumer shift towards premium offerings , we foresee a steady improvement in our margins. Our conviction to grow at 2.5 to 3 times the industry average remains resolute, anchored by investments across people, products, capacity and branding.

As I draw this message to a close, I wish to express my sincere gratitude to every stakeholder who has stood beside us with trust and conviction. Your belief in our purpose enables us to transcend convention, to reimagine and to reinvent, year after year. As we chart the path ahead, we do so with resilience, agility and customer-centricity at our core. Together, we are painting a future where every hue tells a story of purpose, possibility and progress.