Berger Paints to defend market share, even if profits take a hit: CEO Abhijit Roy

Berger Paints India Ltd will prioritise market share over profitability if competitive pressures intensify, said Abhijit Roy, managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO), in an interview with Mint.

“Ideally, we would love to grow both profit and sales," Roy said. “But if push comes to shove, we will prefer to have our market share protected even if a little bit of profit dilution happens. Once your market share is protected, profits can always come back sooner or later," he said, adding that it's not something that the paint maker is worried about.

Roy, who has led Berger for 13 years, admitted that the industry has never seen a disruptor like Birla Opus, which has shaken up what was once a steady business.

“They’ve (Birla Opus) woken everyone up, shaken everyone up—and everyone is running faster. It’s a good thing to have happened to the industry," he said.

Holding ground

Berger, which celebrated its 100th anniversary last year, appears to be holding its turf. The company’s market share improved by 0.5% to 20.8% in the first half of fiscal year 2026 (FY26), in an industry worth nearly $10 billion, according to Roy.

Revenue, however, fell 11.9% sequentially to ₹2,827.49 crore in the September quarter, while net profit dropped 34.4% to ₹206.38 crore.

Asian Paints continues to dominate with about 52% market share, followed by Berger, Kansai Nerolac (15%), and Akzo Nobel (8–9%). The remaining 4–5% is shared by smaller players such as Indigo, Nippon, and Shalimar Paints.

New challengers, new pressure

The competition has heated up.

The Aditya Birla Group’s entry in January 2024 through Birla Opus, with a ₹10,000-crore investment plan across six greenfield plants, raised concerns of a price war. Opus, which is a subsidiary of the listed company Grasim Industries, aspires to break into the top tier of India’s paints industry.

“We endeavour to become a profitable No. 2 player in the coming years," said Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman at Aditya Birla Group, at the time of the launch.

Sensing disruption, Berger doubled down on its market approach: last year, it announced that it would double its revenue in five years.

“It took us almost 100 years to get to ₹10,000 crore. In the next six years, we will do another ₹10,000 crore," Roy told shareholders at Berger’s annual general meeting last year.

Not far behind, JSW Paints, part of Sajjan Jindal’s JSW Group, turned aggressive this July with a ₹9,000-crore acquisition of Akzo Nobel India—signalling its intent to expand fast.

The race for no. 2

“Everyone wants to be number two because number one is out of reach. The real fight is for who becomes number three. Number two looks too far off unless there’s consolidation, which seems unlikely," said Roy.

Still, he remains confident. “We’re already sitting at around 20% market share, and our dream is to move up to 30%. We have the dealers, brands, factories, and people—we know this business well."

Roy pointed out that competitors, including privately-held Opus and JSW Paints, are not being asked tough questions about their profits, but at Berger, they also want to maintain a stable profit.

“Our opportunity is there because we are better placed than Birla, which is coming from a zero base."

Berger Paints’ net profit slipped 23.5% from ₹269.9 crore at the end of September last year to ₹206.4 crore this September. Asian Paints’ profit declined 6% from ₹186.79 at the end of June last year to ₹1117.05 crore this June, while Kansai Nerolac reported an 11.3% increase to ₹133.31 crore, largely aided by a lower tax rate of 26.6% compared with 34.5% in the same period last year. Asian Paints will announce its September quarter earnings on Wednesday.

Distribution push

To protect and grow share, Berger is doubling down on distribution, especially in the West and South, where its presence is relatively weak. The company is tackling material availability issues and adding new dealers in these regions, while reinforcing its dominance in the East, its traditional stronghold.

The East remains Berger’s stronghold, relatively safer from competition. “Birla Opus is stronger in the West and South where they already have a cement network," he said. “So the pressure is higher there, not in the East."

Berger's approach is to reinforce its dominance in the East while expanding and intensifying efforts in the West and South to address regional competition.

Analyst view

According to ICICI Securities, in their report dated 5 November, Berger’s aggressive investments in urban distribution could yield market share gains in the second half of FY26 and FY27.

Analysts also expect competitive intensity to have peaked, allowing for select price hikes once pressures ease.

“We remain enthused by Berger’s aggressive urban push," ICICI Securities analysts wrote.

Roy acknowledged that the extended monsoon had dampened the festive painting season, delaying demand.

The festive season for decorative paints is September and October months, which accounts for 21% of their total sales.

“The demand is going to rise, because there is a lot of pent-up demand there, the rains, you know, delayed it, so we expect that you know sales will happen, you know, in this quarter and the next quarter, you know, a lot of this demand, you know, paint, normally it does not get destroyed, it gets postponed," the chief executive said.

Berger Paints shares have gained 7.61% since the start of the fiscal year, trailing the Nifty benchmark’s 10% rise during the same period, reflecting a positive yet underwhelming performance compared with the broader market.

Despite margin pressure and intensifying competition, Berger is betting on scale, brand recall, and distribution strength to keep its colours bright.