BERGER Paints Jamaica reported a 46 per cent year-over-year increase in export volumes for the nine months to December.

At the same time, the company managed to carve out a bigger share of the local market.

Research conducted by the company indicated that there was a four-percentage point increase in its market share, according to Newton Abrahams, sales manager at Berger.

Gains overseas stemmed from greater investment of time and resources in its export market.

More specifically, the company spent more marketing dollar in Belize, Cuba, the Cayman, and Turks and Caicos islands.

And rather than merely distributing the products to the markets, the export officers have spent time in the territories.

"They have gone into the fields with our distributors in the other islands and they have directly gone to the hardware stores there," said Abrahams.

Promotions as well as radio and television advertisements also complemented Berger's thrust overseas.

Overall, paint sales increased from $1.23 billion during the nine months to December 31, 2011, to $1.29 billion for the comparative period last year.

The paint company's nine-month net profit also increased by three per cent, from $41.3 million to $42.5 million, although that was in part due to a reduction in taxation, from $20.6 million to $14.1 million, over the comparative periods.