AkzoNobel India Ltd on Monday reported an increase of 34.57 per cent in its consolidated net profit to Rs 66.28 crore for the second quarter ended September. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 49.25 crore during the July-September quarter a year ago.

 

However, its revenue from operations was down 4.25 per cent to Rs 606.86 crore during the quarter under review as against Rs 633.82 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

 

Commenting on the results AkzoNobel India Managing Director Rajiv Rajgopal said: "Our profitability improvement this quarter is led by transformation initiatives taken last year, benign raw material costs and some rephasing of festival campaigns to next quarter."

 

The company's total expenses were at Rs 523.61 crore in the second quarter of financial year 2020-21, down 10.36 per cent as against Rs 584.19 crore.

 

While talking about business, Rajgopal said the company has seen improved recovery reaching pre-COVID 19 levels in the rural and non-metro markets during the quarter.

 

"The demand in the metro cities remained muted during the quarter and has improved due to festive season and pent-up demand. Hence, we witnessed volume growth during the quarter. The revival in the automotive sector benefited our business while infrastructure, oil and gas and power segments continued to see demand challenges," it said.

 

The company has partnered with Telerad Foundation to start a telehealth project, Aarogya Sakha, to improve the healthcare status of the painter community. In the first phase of this project, the healthcare service will be accessible to 200,000 painters and their families across states of Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. Aarogya Sakha offers both audio and video consultation, thrice a week. The initiative provides impetus to AkzoNobel India’s ongoing efforts to connect blue collar communities with affordable healthcare care.