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Shares of automotive and industry batteries maker Amara Raja Batteries Ltd (ARBL) touched a new 52-week high after the company reported a 16 per cent jump in net sales in the first quarter of the current fiscal compared to the same period last year.
The company said its first quarter earnings and profit before tax were the highest ever in a quarter and investments in capacity addition during the last year would power growth of the industrial battery business in the current fiscal.
According to the unaudited financial results for the quarter ending June 30, 2014, net sales jumped to Rs 1,025 crore as against Rs 887 crore in the first quarter of last year, a 16 per cent increase. PBT was Rs 150 crore and both revenue and PBT were the highest for any quarter. The profit after tax witnessed eight per cent growth to Rs 106 crore in Q1 of 2014-15 compared to Rs 98 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. EPS for the quarter was Rs 6.20 and the equity capital of the company Rs 17.08 crore.
Jayadev Galla, VC & MD, ARBL, said the expansion of the automotive battery facility would “accelerate the growth momentum and enhance market share”.
In a release, the company said improvement in aftermarket sales powered the growth momentum in four-wheeler battery sales. The two-wheeler battery business also recorded significant volume growth and the company started supplies of two-wheeler batteries to Honda Motors India Ltd at its plant in Karnataka. The company’s capacity addition plans were in an advanced stage of completion that would help it to meet future growth.
ARBL, in which Johnson Controls Inc USA and the Galla family each have a 26 per cent stake, said the industrial battery business too witnessed robust growth as the company augmented capacity in both the LVRLA and MVRLA product ranges. Demand from the telecom sector continued to be strong and mainly served the replacement market. Demand for UPS batteries was also improving.
Shares of ARBL hit a new 52-week high of Rs 520.90 before easing to Rs 515, a gain of Rs 17.30, on the NSE.
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