Kansai Nerolac shares fall 2% despite higher Q1 profit and revenue; margins remain under pressure

Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd. shares slipped 2% in on August 4, even after the company reported a modest rise in its earnings for the first quarter of FY27. Investors appeared cautious as operating margins remained largely flat despite healthy revenue growth.

For the quarter ended June 2026, the company reported a 4.8% year-on-year increase in consolidated net profit to ₹232 crore, compared to ₹221 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Revenue from operations grew 9.8% YoY to ₹2,374 crore, up from ₹2,162 crore.

Operating performance also improved, with EBITDA rising 8.4% to ₹329 crore from ₹303 crore a year ago. However, the EBITDA margin remained almost unchanged at 13.9%, compared with 14.0% in the year-ago period, indicating continued pressure on profitability.

As of 11:30 AM, Kansai Nerolac shares were trading lower after touching an intraday high of ₹212.41 and a low of ₹198.00. The stock opened at ₹208.55, against the previous close of ₹204.18, with a traded volume of over 6.40 lakh shares.

While the company's top-line growth remained healthy, the muted margin performance appeared to weigh on investor sentiment, leading to profit booking in the stock despite an improvement in quarterly earnings.