New Delhi, Nov 9 (PTI) Paints and coatings maker Akzo Nobel 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, Akzo Nobel said in a regulatory filing.

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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.”

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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.

Shares of Akzo Nobel India Ltd on Monday settled at Rs 2,000.70 apiece on BSE, up 1.17 per cent.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)