Kansai Nerolac Paints, the Mumbai-headquartered paints maker majority-owned by Japan's Kansai Paint Co. (74.99%), reports its second quarter against a backdrop of sharply higher crude and a weaker rupee squeezing paint input costs. The print will speak to two things above all: whether the FY27 EBITDA margin band of 13%-14% survives its first real test as high-cost inventory is consumed, and how much of the strong automotive demand surge flowed into the company's industrial coatings business.
| Results date | November 04, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Quarter | Q2 FY 2026-2027 |
| Previous quarter revenue | Rs. 2,299.52 Cr (Q1 FY27, standalone, +10.2% YoY) |
| Previous quarter PAT | Rs. 242.34 Cr (Q1 FY27, standalone) |
| Previous quarter EBITDA margin | 14.61% (derived from announcement figures, Q1 FY27 standalone) |
| Market cap | Rs. 14,263.67 Cr |
| CMP | Rs. 176.28 |
The board is scheduled to meet on Wednesday, 4 Nov 2026 to consider the unaudited standalone and consolidated results for the quarter and six months ending 30 Sep 2026 (Regulation 29, SEBI LODR). The trading window for designated persons and immediate relatives remains closed from 1 Oct to 6 Nov 2026 (both days inclusive).
The Q2 FY27 earnings call is scheduled for Thursday, 5 Nov 2026 at 16:00 hrs IST, organized by ICICI Securities. Speakers include Mr. Pravin Chaudhari (Managing Director), Mr. Yash Ahuja (CFO) and Mr. Jason Gonsalves (Director — Corporate Planning, IT & Materials).
The quarter's central question is whether the FY27 EBITDA margin band of 13%-14% — reaffirmed on the 3 Aug 2026 call after Q1 printed 14.61% — holds as Q2 absorbs seasonally weaker demand plus consumption of high-cost raw-material and finished-goods inventory that management confirmed was carried from Q1.
Input pressure intensified through the window: Brent crude rose about 24% in July and re-spiked to roughly $105-108 by end-September, while the rupee weakened from about 94.9 to about 96 over the quarter, and customs duties on imported polymers and chemical intermediates were reinstated effective 16 Jul 2026.
On demand, the setup is strong — SIAM's Q2 PV sales print of 1.36 mn units, up 30.7% YoY, lands directly on the auto-coatings business where Bawal already ran at 95% utilization pre-expansion, and IIP manufacturing growth of +7.3% to +9.0% through the quarter supports the industrial non-auto line. Decorative, about 45%-50% of revenue, ran value growth high-single-digit and volume growth low-single-digit in Q1 on the premiumization path, with below-normal late-season rainfall removing application disruption, though a later Diwali shifts festive offtake toward Q3.
Management expects industrial price increases — which lag decorative by 'about a quarter or 2' and cost '1.3-odd percent' of gross contribution in Q1 — to materialize in Q2, partially offsetting inflation. The call on 5 Nov 2026 is likely to cover the margin bridge against the guided band, industrial pass-through progress, and execution of the Rs. 594 Cr capacity expansion at Sayakha, Bawal and Hosur.
EBITDA margin vs the 13%-14% FY27 guidance band: Q1 FY27 printed 14.61%, above the band; Q2 carries the flagged swing factors.
Industrial price increases materializing in Q2
Rs. 594 Cr capacity expansion execution
Nerofix merger effectiveness
Decorative volume vs value and festive demand
Management reaffirmed the 13%-14% EBITDA margin band for FY27 on the Q1 FY27 call, with Pravin Chaudhari saying 'the margin guidance is retained… our endeavour is to really maintain that'. The guidance is contingent on raw-material price evolution and the geopolitical situation, and Q2 faces consumption of high-cost inventory carried from Q1.
Management attributed stable YoY margins to industrial price increases lagging decorative, which 'takes about a quarter or 2' to flow through. The industrial price-settlement lag drove a '1.3-odd percent' reduction in gross contribution in Q1, with improvement expected as pass-through completes.
Standalone revenue grew 10.2% YoY to Rs. 2,299.52 Cr with EBITDA of Rs. 335.89 Cr (+7.7%) and PAT of Rs. 242.34 Cr (+4.98% YoY). Revenue growth outpaced profit growth, implying about 33bps of YoY EBITDA margin compression amid raw-material inflation.
Management said industrial share is growing while decorative share is 'about the same', with the volume/value gap in decorative nil. The company is deliberately pursuing premiumization, accepting lower volume growth for better margins.
NCLT Mumbai sanctioned the amalgamation of wholly owned subsidiary Nerofix Private Limited into KNPL with an order dated 24 Sep 2026 and appointed date 1 Apr 2025. No shares are being issued and there is no change of control; effectiveness awaits the RoC filing of the certified order.
Disclaimer: This earnings preview is published for educational and informational purposes only. It is not investment advice, not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security.