Berger Paints (I) Limited — Q4 FY26
Berger Paints delivered a strong Q4 FY26 with standalone volume growth of 11.8% and value growth of 6.7%, driven by healthy traction across decorative and industrial segments.
bullish
high
✓ Verified against BSE filing
Claim Ledger
Did management answer the analysts?
Every material analyst question, graded on whether management actually answered it — with the verbatim exchange and quantitative claims checked against filed numbers.
79%Questions answered1Evaded / deflected12Questions auditedMixedNumbers vs filing
Partial answer
High priority
Impact of pre-buying before price increases on Q1 volumes
Asked by Mihir Shah, Nomura
Acknowledged pre-buying but did not quantify its impact on Q1 volumes.
no quantification of pre-buying impact
Read the exchange
Question
This step-up in volume growth that we are seeing, what according to you would be the impact of pre-buying before the price increases, and how should one think about the 1Q volumes?
Abhijit Roy, Managing Director and CEO
There is some impact, but obviously, the volume growth was improving month-on-month... In quarter one as well, there have been actually three price increases, and the fourth one is coming up on the 15th of May for us. There will be healthy growth, you know, in quarter one as well.
Answered
High priority
Secondary sales level for Q4
Asked by Mihir Shah, Nomura
Provided specific secondary sales growth estimate and breakdown.
Read the exchange
Question
Any level of secondary sales for 4Q that you think that, you know, you can share?
Abhijit Roy, Managing Director and CEO
Secondary sales had improved... If we saw, say, 11.5% or 12% approximately in terms of volume growth, then I would say that the secondary would be around 8%-9% and 3%-4% would have been the bunching up of purchasing due to the price increases.
Partial answer
High priority
Cost inflation, price hikes, and Q1 margin compression
Asked by Mihir Shah, Nomura
Gave qualitative assurance but did not quantify cost inflation or cumulative price hikes.
no specific cost increase percentageno cumulative price hike number
Read the exchange
Question
Given the cost inflation, what is the level of cost increase that you are seeing in RMs currently? What is the cumulative price increase of these 4 price hikes that will sit in 1Q? Should one expect margins, given the timing issue, to compress in 1Q, and to what level?
Abhijit Roy, Managing Director and CEO
More or less whatever has been the raw material price increase so far... we are more or less covered. Except for solvents... almost every other product category is more than adequately covered... I don't see any major impact in the profitability that way.
Evasive
Medium priority
Volume growth expectation for FY27 and margin impact
Asked by Mihir Shah, Nomura
Refused to provide a specific volume growth forecast for FY27.
declined to give guidancevague 'decent growth'
Read the exchange
Question
What is the level of volume growth that one should expect in FY 2027... Can one expect double-digit volumes for the full FY 2027 with no impact on margins?
Abhijit Roy, Managing Director and CEO
It's a difficult question to answer... It's a mixed equation, very difficult to project at this stage what will happen. We assume that it will be a fairly decent volume growth in spite of all of these challenges.
Answered
High priority
Cumulative price hike percentage and volume-value equation
Asked by Avi Mehta, Macquarie Capital Securities
Provided specific price hike range and explained volume-value dynamics.
Read the exchange
Question
These cumulative price hikes... could you kind of give us a number for it. Do you see it kind of improving the growth trajectory from the 6%? Basically, is the volume impact likely to be lower than the price hikes?
Abhijit Roy, Managing Director and CEO
The price increase that we have taken is about 11%-12%, depending on the mix... Now, in terms of what will happen to the volume-value equation, this time it will reverse... the value growth will be higher than the volume growth.
Answered
High priority
Risk of volume backlash from significant pricing
Asked by Percy Panthaki, IIFL Capital
Addressed the question with historical context and reasoning.
Read the exchange
Question
If we take significant pricing, don't you think there could be a sort of backlash in terms of volume? How do we sort of figure out whether this will happen or not?
Abhijit Roy, Managing Director and CEO
Earlier in previous records we have studied, whenever these price increases have happened... the prices do go up, and then one and a half years down the line, it tends to slide downwards... I think given the current inflationary situation... this type of inflation can be absorbed.
Answered
High priority
COGS inflation vs pre-war and margin coverage
Asked by Percy Panthaki, IIFL Capital
Provided specific inflation percentage and claimed coverage.
Read the exchange
Question
On your overall COGS basket, what is the inflation today compared to the pre-war situation?
Abhijit Roy, Managing Director and CEO
It's about 22%-23%, and that's more or less covered through the price increase.
Answered
Medium priority
West Bengal market size and impact of government change
Asked by Abneesh Roy, Nuvama Institutional Equities
Confirmed double-digit share and provided outlook.
Read the exchange
Question
How big is Bengal market for you as a percentage of revenue? Last two, three years, is there a slowdown?
Abhijit Roy, Managing Director and CEO
It is double-digit, actually... Last two years, especially last year, have been weak year in West Bengal... We expect that this time there will be significant growth coming out of West Bengal.
Answered
Medium priority
Competitive intensity and media spend rationale
Asked by Abneesh Roy, Nuvama Institutional Equities
Explained competitive intensity and media spend strategy with specifics.
Read the exchange
Question
Why is the competitive intensity high? It has to reflect in any of these numbers... I don't see Berger with 20% market share having that kind of a media presence... what is your media share?
Abhijit Roy, Managing Director and CEO
Competitive intensity—why I've said that is because it is still quite strong... Our spends remain at our market share, sort of, which is 20%... We have always maintained our share of voice at a similar level to our share of market.
Answered
High priority
Gross margin percentage impact despite price hikes
Asked by Speaker 11
Acknowledged gross margin decline and quantified impact.
Read the exchange
Question
Just for the sake of argument, you said that the '60s got 20% inflation, so your raw material cost will go up by 12%, which is the price increase that you've taken. Now, I get that an absolute gross margin in this scenario doesn't change, but in an accounting sense, the percentage gross margins would be lower, no?
Abhijit Roy, Managing Director and CEO
Yes, you are right. It will have an impact slightly on the gross margin... It will still possibly have a slow 1.5% impact on the gross margin, but that will get neutralized in the EBITDA margin because of the scale efficiency.
Answered
High priority
EBITDA margin guidance range in inflationary environment
Asked by Aditya Bhartia, Investec Capital Services
Confirmed EBITDA margin guidance range and explained flexibility.
Read the exchange
Question
Historically, you have guided for roughly a 15%-17% kind of an EBITDA range. Is that the range that you'll stick with even in this inflationary environment and as raw material costs cool off?
Abhijit Roy, Managing Director and CEO
No, we stick to that 15%-17%. You know, like this quarter, we did exceed that. You know, we went up to 18.3%... Sometimes when it goes up consistently... we will spend more on advertisement and brand building.
Partial answer
Medium priority
Narrowing of price gap with Birla Opus after rebates
Asked by Jaykumar Doshi, Kotak Securities
Confirmed narrowing but did not quantify until follow-up.
no specific percentage provided initially
Read the exchange
Question
After rebates and trade schemes, do you think that net of all those schemes and rebates, also the gap has narrowed?
Abhijit Roy, Managing Director and CEO
Yes. That is right. Similar.
Quantitative claims vs filed numbers
| Claim | Management said | Filing | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Volume growth approximately 11.5%-12% in Q4 | 11.5% | 6.7% | Overstated vs filing |
| EBITDA margin 18.3% this quarter | 18.3% | 18.3% | Matches filing |
Filed figures sourced from Screener.in. Claims within a small tolerance of the filing are marked “matches filing”.