Exide Industries Ltd on Monday reported lower FY’14 third quarter net profit at Rs 77.52 crore against Rs 104.09 crore in the previous fiscal.
According to Exide MD & CEO, P.K. Kataky, continued sluggish demand had its impact on the performance of the company. Turnover in the October-December quarter dropped to Rs 1,301 crore from 1,462 crore.
In the replacement market, the demand for storage batteries from heavy and light-duty commercial vehicles remained subdued, the company said in a press release.
Taxi segment also witnessed a similar situation. Demand from the OEM segment also declined. Demand for industrial and inverter batteries was also sluggish.
“Though demand contraction in key markets (original equipment segment and industrial battery segment), higher lead prices and rupee depreciation are major concern for the stock, valuations are already factoring all negatives,” said Daljeet Singh Kohli, Head of Research, IndiaNivesh Securities Ltd.
The Exide stock slumped over 6 per cent to Rs 105.10 on the BSE.