Cmp-1983
AkzoNobel India is a 100% debt free subsidiary of 132 years old Dutch multinational company Akzo Nobel N.V., headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherland. Akzo Nobel India is engaged in the business of manufacturing, trading and selling of paints and related products.
Akzo Nobel India has been present in India for over 60 years and currently operates in the Paints & Coatings segment. AkzoNobel is a leading coatings company whose key products include automotive coatings, specialized equipment for the car repair and transportation market and marine coatings. The coatings groups consist of the following business unit :
- Marine Coatings
- Protective Coatings
- Vehicle Refinishes
- Specialty Coatings
- Metal Coatings
- Wood Coatings
- Powder Coatings
The Company also provides research and development services to the holding company and its group companies. The company has class portfolio of brands – including Dulux, International, Sikkens and Interpon – is trusted by customers around the globe.
Other products include-:
Marine Coatings business mainly deals in providing anti-corrosive, fire protection, fouling control technologies and aesthetic solutions for on and offshore assets.
Protective Coatings business services a wide range of industrial sectors like oil & gas, power, infrastructure projects and wind energy. The main driving factors for the markets are boost in government projects for renewable energy and acceleration of infrastructure projects. ‘CoatIN’ range of products is being offered as a cost effective, technology driven range of protective coatings specifically designed to protect assets from corrosion while enhancing its aesthetic appeal.
Powder Coatings business caters to multiple segments like architectural, general trade coaters, general industries, automobiles, functional and domestic appliances. Akzo Nobel’s comprehensive range of powder coatings help protect a variety of metal surfaces in applications including window and door frames, pipes, car components, radiators, metal furniture, home appliances etc. Powder coating is also used on underbody-chassis, exterior trims, primers and clear for wheels and coatings for springs in the automobile segment.
Industrial Coatings (ICO) business covers coil, packaging and wood coatings. Coil coating is a continuous and highly automated process for coating metals before fabrication. Coil coatings market is dominated by roofing, building & construction product category, aluminum composite panels and domestic appliance & ACP segments.
Packaging coatings business supplies coatings and inks for the protection and aesthetics of beverages, food, aerosol and general line cans, metal closures and collapsible tubes.
Wood coatings is a relatively new business and offers a wide range of wood finishes and adhesive solutions that meet the unique specifications of our customers.
Automotive and Specialty Coatings (ASC) business covers vehicle refinishes, commercial vehicles, railways and specialty coatings. With renowned brands like Sikkens, Lesonal, Wanda and Duco, ASC business has a strong presence in the market. This business has a strong correlation with the growth of automobile industry, which is currently going through a slowdown.
Special product lines to service the prestigious projects of Railways and other high-profile public infrastructure projects are being developed basis their specifications.
Company recently introduced Dulux Weathershield Max – next generation protection for home exteriors against recurring cracks, dampness and fungus formation caused by rain. The product – with its advanced, crack-proof active guard and smart release technologies – protects exterior walls. Meanwhile, its SunReflect technology keeps surfaces up to 5°C cooler due to its higher solar reflectance index value (SRI).
The company also launched the Dulux Colour Play Tester, a handy, first-of-its kind paint sampler integrated with an easy-to-use mini roller. The specialized tool improves consumers’ lives by making the color selection process fun and easy, allowing them to test out colours on their walls before finalising the shade.
The company improved its offering by beefing up the Wanda portfolio in vehicle refinishes; completing its premium wood coatings portfolio; and introducing more efficient product offerings in protective coatings. In addition, company’s powder coatings are now well-used to being used to coat the localized products of a certain Finnish handset manufacturer. In Marine, Protective and Yacht Coatings, we introduced a series of new products – Intergard 251HS, Intertherm 228HS, Interbond 2340 and Interchar 1290.
The Dulux Visualizer app, which enables users to see what a room will look like before its walls are painted, is an award-winning technological initiative that highlights our focus on innovation
Company has presence in over 150 countries and employ around 34,500 talented people .
Parent History-:
AkzoNobel has a long history of mergers and divestments. Parts of the current company can be traced back to 17th-century companies.
In 1646, the Swedish weapons manufacturer Bofors was established in Karlskoga. In 1893 the company became majority owned by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel. In 1984 Bofors acquired KemaNobel, which had been established in 1841 and then existed as the result of mergers and acquisitions in 1970: Liljeholmens Stearinfabriks chemicals business (established 1841), Barnängen Tekniska Fabrik AB (1868) and Casco (1928). In 1994 Akzo and Nobel Industries agreed to merge, forming Akzo Nobel, with the new combined entity having 20 business entities a number of divestments were made: Nobel Chemicals, Nobel Biotech and Spectra-Physics. In 2008 AkzoNobel acquired British Imperial Chemical Industries plc for $15.8 billion.
The milestone mergers and divestments are the formation of AKZO in 1969, the merger with Nobel Industries in 1994 forming Akzo Nobel, and the divestment of its pharmaceutical business and the merger with ICI in 2007/2008 resulting in current-day AkzoNobel.
In March 2017, PPG Industries launched an unsolicited takeover bid of €20.9bn, which was promptly rejected by AkzoNobel’s management.
AkzoNobel is active in over 150 countries and employs around 34,000 people with net income of €6.674 million in 2018. Days later, PPG again launched an increased bid of €24.5 billion ($26.3 billion), which was again rejected by AkzoNobel’s management.
Later, in the same month Akzo outlined its plan to separate its chemicals division and pay shareholders €1.6 billion in extra dividends.
However On April 24, a day before Akzo’s annual meeting of shareholders, PPG increased its final offer by approximately 8% to $28.8 billion.
Financials-:
Company Holding’s breakup. 
OPERATING PROFIT AND NET PROFIT MARGIN
FY 2019 performance
For year ended March 2019, net sales rose 7% to Rs 2918.35 crore compared to corresponding previous year period. However company operating margins rose 70 bps to 11.7% leading a 14% increase in operating profit to Rs 342.3 crore.
Other income fell 4% to Rs 42.22 crore. Interest cost was Rs 4.45 crore compared to Rs 3.5 crore. Depreciation rose 12% to Rs 65.16 crore. PBT before EO as a result rose 12% to Rs 314.91 crore. The company had an EO income of Rs 0.65 crore compared to EO income of Rs 2 crore in the corresponding previous year period both representing divestment provisions no longer required and accordingly written back. PBT after EO was up 11% to Rs 315.56 crore. Considering 580 bps rise in effective tax rate to 33.1% PAT rose 3% to Rs 210.98 crore.
June 2019 quarter performance
For quarter ended March 2019, net sales rose 1% to Rs 719.69 crore compared to corresponding previous year period. Operating margins of the company rose 430 bps to 14.4% leading a 43% rise in operating profit to Rs 103.38 crore.
Other income fell 13% to Rs 7.94 crore. Interest cost was Rs 2.53 crore compared to Rs 0.89 crore. Depreciation rose 36% to Rs 20.2 crore. PBT rose 35% to Rs 88.59 crore. Considering 160 bps rise in effective tax rate to 35.5% net profit rose 31% to Rs 57.14 crore.
Key Financial Aspects-:
- Solid ROCE of 21% .
- Cash and Equivalents of Rs 62 crores.
- Investments of more than Rs 377 crores.
- Reserves and Surplus of Rs 1090 crores.
- 100% Debt free.
- Compounded profit Growth of 14% over 5 years period.
- ROE od 16%
- 75% of the equity held by promoters.
- Consistently Dividend paying company.
Buyback-:
The company has twice bought back shares.
In 2012 company bought back 1.3 million shares from the minority shareholders at a price of Rs 920 per equity share.
In 2018 company bought back 1.12 million shares aggregating to 2.4% of the issued, subscribed and paid up Equity Capital of the company at the price of 2100Rs per equity share.
The promoters did not participate in the buy back thereby taking the total promoter holdings up from 72.96% to 74.76%.
Dividend-:
The company has a long standing of returning the money back to its investors as a result it is a constant dividend paying company with a history of paying record dividends of Rs80 per share for consecutively two years via Final and Interim dividends.
Recently the management decided to increase dividends to Rs24 per share for the financial year 2018-19, compared to Rs22 per share in the previous year.
Future Outlook-:
India’s Paints & Coatings industry is a fairly structured one, with organised players accounting for 65-70% of the industry’s sales. ‘Paints’ account for around 75% of the overall market and ‘Coatings’ account for the rest.
The GST slab applicable to the Company’s product lines has been reduced to 18% in July 2018,
Demand for Paints depends on the housing sector and good monsoons whereas Coatings demand is linked to user industries like auto, engineering, infrastructure projects and consumer durables and is dependent on business cycle and economic conditions. The Government’s push towards rural infrastructure spends and higher minimum support prices are expected to significantly improve rural consumption, which is good for the industry. Demand for Coatings is also expected to increase going forward because of higher investments in infrastructure and increased consumer spending. While the overall business outlook for 2019-20 remains positive for the industry, concerns would remain on the raw materials front if crude oil prices were to increase.
New Product Launches-:
The business has launched a series of innovative and envirofriendly products during the year that have received encouraging response from the market. Some of them are:
- Dulux Testers, in an exclusive tie up with Amazon – first of its kind tool in India
- Next generation of Dulux Weathershield Max with improved anti-fungal, anti-algal properties
- Scale up of new Dulux Promise Enamel
- Sadolin by Dulux in the Woodcare range
- Dulux Professional Weathershield TR2000
- Dulux Professional Weathershield Creation STONETEX ‘as stone like’ finish in premium exterior/Interior professional segment
- New metallic finishes in Dulux Velvet Touch Trends metallic range
- Premium exterior products “Dulux Weathershield Powerflexx & Dulux Professional Weathershield Flexx’’ were launched during the year with new proposition ‘’SMART RELEASE” to offer better customer experience
- Scaleup of new products under ‘Dulux Aquatech’ waterproofing umbrella.
Key Aspects-:
- 3,000 scientists worldwide; 3100 patents owned
- 70 labs, 5 technology centers globally
- Listed on Euronext Amsterdam
- €20 bn* Market Capitalization
- Presence in 150+ countries
- 200+ years of legacy in Paints & Coatings
Akzo Nobel was previously suggested in DARKHORSESTOCKS on 12 June 2017 at the price of 1799Rs and since then the stock has hit all time high of 2275Rs thereby delivering 26% returns on capital basis while dividend for the two years was 22Rs and 24Rs.
