The Hindu Business Line : Exide PAT up 49% in Q4 at Rs 38.5 cr

Kolkata April 20 Exide Industries on Friday reported a 37 per cent growth in gross turnover to Rs 671 crore during the fourth quarter of 2006-07. This is against a turnover of Rs 489 crore recorded during the corresponding period of the previous year. Profit after tax grew by 49 per cent from Rs 25.89 crore to Rs 38.51 crore.

For the entire fiscal of 2006-07, gross sales grew by 35 per cent from Rs 1,762 crore in 2005-06 to Rs 2,383 crore. Net profit grew by 54 per cent from Rs 101 crore in 2005-06 to Rs 155 crore.

While gross sales grew by a marginally higher rate during the fourth quarter, the profitability was marginally lower due to rise in input costs during the quarter. The company recommended 35 per cent dividend for the year.

Dollar impact

According to Mr S.B. Ganguly, the new Chairman Emeritus, the impact of rising input costs were partly negated by a comparatively softer dollar during the fourth quarter.

Announcing the results, a company communiqué said that 2006-07 witnessed Exide's emergence as "the world's second largest two-wheeler battery manufacturer".

During 2006-07, production of automotive batteries for four wheelers increased from 4.6 million units to 5.6 million units. Production of two-wheeler batteries rose from 5.8 million units to 7 million units. Industrial battery production rose from 800 million ampere hours to over 1 billion ampere hours.

"Exide's dominance of the car market continued, with 80 per cent share and an overall market share of 78 per cent", the release said. It is the sole supplier to leading manufacturers like Tata Motors and Toyota.