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Riding on the back of higher sales growth across various verticals, Exide Industries Ltd posted a nine per cent rise in standalone net profit at ₹223 crore for Q3 as compared with ₹204 crore in same period last year. The company, which has registered nearly seven per cent growth in turnover, expects the demand scenario to be positive for both automotive and industrial verticals.
Revenue from operations on a standalone basis grew by nearly seven per cent at ₹3405 crore during the quarter under review, as against ₹3197 crore same period last year.
In the automotive vertical, overall volume in the replacement market continues to grow. Demand from the OEMs was also strong as supply-side constraints abated, with chip supplies increasing globally, the company said in a press statement.
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Demand was strong in most industrial verticals such as railways, projects, telecom, solar and traction.
“We expect order inquiries and order flow to remain healthy in the coming quarters as well,” it said.
The company’s operating profit margin improved during the quarter compared to the immediate previous quarter as input cost pressures eased. EBITDA margin increased sequentially to 11.8 per cent in Q3 FY23, compared to 11.1 per cent in Q2 FY23. For the nine months ended December 31, 2022, EBITDA and PBT are up 15 per cent and 24 per cent year-on-year basis. Strong growth in most business verticals, calibrated price hikes and multiple initiatives to optimise costs have driven profits, it said.
“Our operating profit margin increased quarter-on-quarter in Q3 FY23 as raw material price inflation eased. Our overall sales growth was 7 per cent for the quarter, driven by volume growth in most verticals. In the coming months, we expect the demand scenario to be positive for both automotive and industrial verticals. We will continue to focus on increasing our market share through our diversified product portfolio and pan-India distribution network. We will also aim at improving margins by increasing the proportion of premium products in our sales mix and through aggressively driving cost optimisation initiatives,” said Subir Chakraborty, MD and CEO, Exide.
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The multigiga-watt lithium-ion cell manufacturing project undertaken by Exide Energy Solutions Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary near Bengaluru, is progressing well and is on schedule, he added. The company’s board had, in its meeting earlier in December 2022, decided to explore the possibility of the merger of its two wholly-owned subsidiaries, namely Exide Energy Pvt Ltd (formerly known as Exide Leclanche Energy) and Exide Energy Solutions Ltd, owing to both the companies having a similar line of business.
The company’s scrip closed at ₹176.45, down by 3.61 per cent on the BSE on Monday.
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