Asian Paints

Asian Paints as early as April 2002, when the company was still in the initial phase of revamping its marketing and branding exercise. Positive view on the company was supported by expectations of a strong pickup in exterior paint demand (both for first time and replacement uses) over the next few years and Asian Paints' rising clout in the market on the back of its quality products and distribution reach. These competitive advantages, it was believed, had the potential to take the company on to a high growth trajectory in the future. And it did just that. During the period FY02 and FY08, the company has grown its sales and profits at compounded annual rates of 16% and 22% respectively, which is by all standards an outstanding performance. And the stock price followed; galloping from Rs 213 to Rs 1,270, a return of nearly 500%!