Colourful Times Ahead

Formerly as Goodlass Nerolac Paints, Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd (KNPL) is the Indian subsidiary of Japan's Kansai Paint Company Limited. The company has a rich history that dates back to 1920 when it was established as Gahagan Paints & Varnish Company Limited in Mumbai. Over a decade later, in 1933, the company has acquired entirely by Lead Industries Group Limited, a British Group and thus, Goodlass Wall (India) Limited was born. In 1957, Goodlass Wall became Goodlass Nerolac Paints Private Limited and went public in the same year. Then in 1986, Goodlass Nerolac became a joint venture of Tata Forbes and Kansai Paint Company, with the latter acquiring 36 per cent of its share capital. And finally in 1999, Kansai Paint took over the entire stake held by Tata Forbes and thus, Goodlass Nerolac Paints became Kansai Nerolac Paints, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Japanese major. Kansai Paint is the largest paint manufacturing company in Japan and among the top ten coating companies of the world. After its acquisition, Kansai Nerolac has become the second largest coating company in India with a market share of over 21 per cent. The company is the market leader in the industrial/automotive segment supplying over 90 per cent of the OEM requirements. It is a leader in powder coatings as well. Financials   FY 06  FY 07  FY 08 Net Sales (Rs cr) 1064.22 1288.62 1402.88 PAT (Rs cr)* 79.18 97.13 100.56 EPS (Rs) 56.88 44.21 44.46 RONW (%) 21.71 21.17 18.19 ROCE (%) 30.9 27.09 24.16 FY end

This article was originally published on August 12, 2008.