Latest News | Manufacturing Facilities Working at Up to 70 Pc Capacities Amid Pandemic: Asian Paints

New Delhi, Aug 4 (PTI) Asian Paints on Tuesday said its manufacturing facilities are working at up to 70 per cent capacities due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic and resultant lockdowns.

The company said its business has picked up progressively in tier 2, 3, 4 cities where the demand conditions were better, while in metros and some tier 1 cities, the pace of recovery is slow.

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"All the operations which were disrupted since early March 2020 have seen resumption since early May, 2020. The company has been able to open all manufacturing plants after taking requisite Government permissions,” Asian Paints said in a regulatory filing.

The permissions are for running the plants across all the businesses to a limited capacity or even to a full capacity in some geographies, it said, pointing out that manufacturing facilities of the company are working at approximately 60-70 per cent levels.

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Asian Paints business divisions include decorative, home improvement and industrial operations.

The business in India saw improvement in demand conditions over May and June after a complete washout in April, 2020, it said.

The company has re-opened approximately 95 per cent of sales offices with full precautions on safety, social distancing and hygiene drills and it is continuously monitoring the situation and will resume operations in remaining workplaces basis the situation and necessary government permissions.

"July has been challenging in terms of sporadic lockdowns across various states. Till now the indications seem to be positive and the company believes that it will tide through this crisis by focusing on its core strengths, understanding the changing customer requirements and fulfilling these requirements through innovative market approach," the company said.

Asian Paints had reported a 67.32 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 219.61 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, due to complete washout of business in April.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 672.09 crore during April-June quarter of the previous fiscal.

Its revenue from operations was down 42.74 per cent at Rs 2,922.66 crore during the quarter under review as against Rs 5,104.72 crore in the same period previous fiscal.

Shares of Asian Paints were trading 1.67 per cent higher at Rs 1,733.35 apiece on the BSE. PTI SVK ANS ANS 08041104 NNNNy Hazard, who started the buildup for Marcelo's strike from inside the area in the 37th.

Eibar, sitting two points outside the relegation zone, got its only goal from Pedro Bigas in the 60th.

Ramos had scored the first goal at the Alfredo Di Stéfano when it was inaugurated with an exhibition match in 2006.

"The truth is we are all thrilled to be back on the field again," Ramos said.

"We couldn't wait for the league to start again, to compete again, and the best way to do that is with a win."

Madrid is expected to play all of its remaining home matches at the Alfredo Di Stéfano because the Bernabéu will continue to undergo renovation work during the summer.

The club is likely to remain at the stadium for the rest of the season even if fans are allowed back before then, which the league has said is a possibility.

ATLÉTICO HELD

Atlético Madrid's struggles continued as its season resumed after being held 1-1 at Athletic Bilbao for its third straight league draw.

The setback kept Diego Simeone's team in sixth place, outside the Champions League spots.

The goals at the empty San Mamés Stadium came a couple of minutes apart late in the first half, with Athletic's Iker Muniain scoring in the 37th and Atlético equalizing with Diego Costa in the 39th for his first goal since last October.

During the celebration, Costa held the jersey of Atlético women's team player Virginia Torrecilla, who is recovering from brain surgery to remove a tumor.

It was the 13th league draw for Atlético, which has only two wins in its last nine league matches.

"We earned a draw at a tough place but we need to start winning three points if we want to stay in contention to qualify for the Champions League," Atlético midfielder Jorge "Koke" Resurrección said.

"It will be difficult if we don't start winning matches."

Atlético's last match before the break had been an away victory against Liverpool that eliminated the titleholders in the Champions League round of 16. But Atlético had drawn its last two league matches — against Sevilla and Espanyol — to drop in the standings and remain far from the leaders. It trails Barcelona by 15 points with 10 rounds left.

Atlético has the same 46 points as fifth-place Getafe and is a point behind fourth-place Real Sociedad, which drew 1-1 with Osasuna at home on Sunday.

Athletic, which had won two in a row before the break, stayed in 10th place. AP

(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)