ASIA CUANON(SH:603378) Sou Hu Cai Jing·2025-12-03 16:15Core Viewpoint - The employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) launched by Asia Paints (亚士创能) have resulted in significant losses, leading to the judicial freezing of shares held by the company's major stakeholders due to financial difficulties in fulfilling their commitments to employees [2][4]. Group 1: Employee Stock Ownership Plans - Asia Paints launched two employee stock ownership plans in 2020 and 2021 to incentivize employees and align their interests with the company [4]. - The first plan involved 1.1571 million shares, representing 0.59% of the total share capital, with an average transaction price of approximately 47.25 yuan per share [4]. - The second plan included 1.7525 million shares, accounting for 0.85% of the total share capital, with an average transaction price of about 53.354 yuan per share [4]. - The total scale of both plans was approximately 148 million yuan, funded by employees' legal salaries, self-raised funds, and potentially external financing [4]. Group 2: Financial Performance and Share Price Decline - As of December 3, Asia Paints' stock price had fallen to 6.93 yuan per share, resulting in a market capitalization of less than 3 billion yuan, indicating a loss of at least 70% for the employee stock ownership plans [5]. - The company reported a revenue of 2.052 billion yuan in 2024, a year-on-year decline of 34%, with a net loss of 329 million yuan [5]. - In the first three quarters of the current year, the company generated only 397 million yuan in revenue, a staggering year-on-year decrease of 76.97%, and incurred a loss of 311 million yuan, nearing the total loss for the previous year [5]. Group 3: Debt Crisis and Financial Ratios - As of June 2023, Asia Paints' debt-to-asset ratio rose to 79.36%, with interest-bearing liabilities reaching 2.655 billion yuan [6]. - The company's cash reserves dwindled to 212 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 64.39% [6]. - Key solvency indicators have deteriorated, with a current ratio of only 0.52, significantly below the safety line of 2, and a cash-to-current liabilities ratio of just 7.87%, indicating severe short-term debt repayment pressure [6].