Asian Paints has reported 20.23 per cent decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 440.74 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, mainly on account of higher expenses.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 552.56 crore in the same period of the previous fiscal, Asian Paints said in a BSE filing today.

The company’s total expenses during the June quarter increased by 10.74 per cent to Rs 3,661.37 crore compared with Rs 3,306.22 crore during the same period last fiscal.

Its total income from operations, however, was up 4.94 per cent at Rs 4,306.60 crore in the quarter under review, against Rs 4,103.56 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal.

“The decorative business in India registered low single-digit volume growth in the current quarter with the business getting impacted, especially in the month of June due to GST rollout from July 1,” Asian Paints Managing Director and CEO K B S Anand said.

On a standalone basis, the company recorded a net profit of Rs 400.95 crore compared with Rs 501.18 crore in the year-ago period.

The company shares ended down by 0.57 per cent at Rs 1,149.45 on the BSE.