Khandala (Maharashtra), Jan 29 (IANS): Indian paints major Asian Paints Thursday said its net consolidated profits for the quarter ending Dec 31 increased by 11.8 percent to Rs.368.2 crore compared to Rs.329.4 crore for the same period in the previous fiscal.

Its total income from operations during the third quarter rose by 5.8 percent to Rs.3,652.6 crore from Rs.3,451.9 crore in the same period last fiscal.

Profit before tax was registered at Rs.5,38.4 crore -- an increase of 9 percent from the previous Rs.494.1 crore during the third quarter of the previous fiscal.

"We registered single-digit volume growth in the decorative paint segment in India due to sluggish demand conditions. Growth in the current quarter was also affected due to the early festival season as compared to the previous year," the company's managing director and CEO K.B.S. Anand said in a statement.

He said its business in the automotive segment, a joint-venture project with the US-based PPG Industries Inc saw good growth. However, it was affected by subdued demand from the consumers.

"The international business performance was led by double-digit growth in some markets like Bangladesh, Nepal and the United Arab Emirates even though some countries continued to be affected by political events and macro-economic uncertainty," he said.