Battery major Exide Industries on Wednesday reported a 2.3 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) increase in its consolidated net profit to ₹202.69 crore for the third quarter this fiscal from ₹198.14 crore for the same period last fiscal.

The company’s revenue from operations in the quarter under review stood at ₹3,979.83 crore (₹3,538.50 crore), up 12.47 per cent y-o-y, according to a stock exchange filing.

The Kolkata-based company said its operating profits increased 10 per cent y-o-y for the third quarter of the current financial year. EBITDA margin was 11.5 per cent in Q3 FY24 (11.8 per cent). “Higher raw material prices during the quarter led to margin pressures, though lower fixed costs restricted the impact to some extent,” it said.

In the automotive division, the battery major saw an uptrend in demand in both OEM and replacement markets in the last few months. The uptick was broad based, with most end-user markets showing signs of demand recovery.

“The Industrial division is benefiting from large investments which are giving strong impetus to sectors such as BFSI, Renewables, Telecom, Infrastructure (Power, Railways etc),” Exide Industries said.

EBITDA margin lower

Commenting on the quarterly performance, MD & CEO Subir Chakraborty said demand was positive in both automotive and industrial divisions, and the company achieved healthy growth in its key end-customer markets.

“However, EBITDA margin was marginally lower than the same quarter in the previous year mainly on account of input cost inflation,” Chakraborty said, adding the company was optimistic about the future and it was witnessing signs of demand pick-up across key verticals.

“Input cost inflationary pressures have started easing, which, coupled with our cost optimisation initiatives, is expected to support margins. We will continue to focus on delivering healthy sales growth and improvement in profitability levels in the near-to-medium term,” he said.

The company said its lithium-ion cell manufacturing project is progressing as per scheduled timelines. Exide’s investment in its wholly-owned subsidiary, Exide Energy Solutions (EESL), through the equity route was to the tune of ₹1,820.01 crore till December 2023.

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