New Delhi: JSW Paints has formally become the promoter of Akzo Nobel India after acquiring 60.76% of the company, taking its holding to 61.2% of the paid-up equity.
The board has also approved a proposal to rename the company “JSW Dulux Limited,” subject to shareholder clearance, marking a strategic reset for the Dulux owner in the country.
The leadership deck has been reshuffled with Parth Sajjan Jindal coming on board as non-executive chairman, Shantanu Maharaj Khosla appointed as an independent director, and Rajiv Rajgopal re-designated as joint managing director and CEO. Management said the group’s ambition is to move from the fourth spot in the domestic paints market into the top three and eventually the top two.
Operationally, the company reported a volume-led recovery in the December quarter. Overall volumes rose 5.9% year-on-year, led by a 6.6% increase in domestic volumes, even as revenue slipped 1% due to pricing corrections and mix changes. The festive-season push helped B2C, while B2B saw order growth across businesses. EBITDA margin stood at 14.9%, broadly stable sequentially.
For Q3 FY26, revenue came in at about ₹907.7 crore versus ₹916.6 crore a year earlier, while EBITDA was ₹135.7 crore compared with ₹138.4 crore last year. Profit after tax (excluding exceptional items) improved to ₹94.6 crore from ₹89.3 crore, aided by mix improvement in the retail vertical and royalty savings redeployed into growth initiatives. The quarter also included exceptional items of ₹27.9 crore related to labour codes, retention bonuses and carve-out receipts.
On the product front, the company leaned into premiumisation. It launched Dulux Weathershield Metallics with over 80 shades and a 10-year warranty, entered flooring applications with Weathershield Floor Plus offering 800-plus colours, and expanded the textures portfolio with new designer finishes. In decorative paints, premium grew 4% with waterproofing up 17%, while retail outpaced growth across geographies.
In coatings, demand stayed supportive across power, oil & gas and mining in protective coatings, marine saw a pick-up in docking, and automotive and specialty coatings benefited from bodyshop wins and a better product mix. Industrial coatings logged strong orders in coil and aluminium composite panels, with auto OEM volumes showing strength.
Management said the focus will remain on driving market share gains, accelerating innovation around Dulux, and embedding ESG into operations, while maintaining a tight grip on profitability in a competitive market.