Storage battery major Exide Industries on Tuesday reported a 15.5 per cent year-on-year increase in its standalone net profit to ₹279.57 crore for the first quarter this fiscal from ₹241.94 crore for the same period last fiscal.

The company’s revenue from operations witnessed a 5.89 per cent y-o-y rise to ₹4,312.76 crore during the period under review from ₹4,072.61 crore in the year-ago period, according to a stock exchange filing.

EBITDA

The company, in a release, said its EBITDA margins inched up to 11.5 per cent in Q1FY25 compared to 10.6 per cent in Q1FY24.

“We have recorded an impressive growth in operating profitability. Despite increase in commodity prices, EBITDA increased by 14.4 per cent during the quarter, supported by revenue growth and cost optimisation initiatives,” it said, adding cash flow generation remained healthy, and the company continued to maintain a comfortable balance sheet with zero debt.

In the first quarter of the current financial year, Exide invested ₹200 crore as equity in its wholly-owned subsidiary, Exide Energy Solutions (EESL). Additionally, equity of ₹75 crore was invested in July, 2024. EESL focuses on manufacturing lithium-ion cells, packs, and modules for both mobility and stationary applications.

Commenting on the results, Exide Industries MD & CEO Avik Roy said, both automobile and industrial verticals delivered growth in the first quarter and near-term drivers are promising. “Despite rising raw material prices, cost optimisation initiatives led to lower cost of production and gross margin improvement of nearly 240 basis points on a y-o-y basis. EBITDA margin also increased to 11.5 per cent, which is in line with our focus on improving the overall profitability,” Roy said, adding though commodity prices have started inching higher, the company would aim to maintain its trajectory of delivering healthy profits over the medium-term.

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