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Exide Industries Ltd’s board on Monday appointed P.K. Kataky, currently Director-Automotive, as Managing Director & CEO with effect from May 1. T.V. Ramanathan, the present MD & CEO, will retire on Tuesday.
The company said it planned a capital outlay of Rs 250 crore for industrial batteries capacity augmentation and modernisation of its units in the FY 2014.
The debt-free company had incurred a capital expenditure of Rs 176 crore during the FY 2013.
In March, following the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) nod, the company completed the acquisition of remaining 50 per cent stake in ING Vysya Life Insurance. “The acquisition was funded entirely from the internal cash resources of the company,” the company said.
Exide recommended a final dividend of 60 paise a share (face value of Re 1) for FY 2013. It had declared an interim dividend of Re 1 a share. It had paid a total dividend of Rs 1.50 in the previous financial year.
Exide reported a 40 per cent sequential growth in its fourth quarter net profit for the period to March 2013. During the quarter, the net revenue was at Rs 1,538 crore and net profit Rs 146 crore against Rs 1,463 crore and Rs 104 crore, respectively earned during the third quarter of the financial year 2012-13. The operating margin improved 320 basis points sequentially.
Managing Director and CEO T.V. Ramanathan said: “There is a marked improvement in the company’s performance during the fourth quarter of the financial year 2012-13. The regaining of market share in the crucial automotive replacement market, which started during the first quarter of the financial year under review, gained further traction during this period. However, the full impact of the volume growth did not accrue due to de-growth in the original equipment (OE) business in the four-wheeler segment and less than expected growth in the two-wheeler OE segment.”
For 2012-13, Exide recorded net revenue of Rs 6,071 crore, up 19 per cent. Despite the margin pressures, the net profit at Rs 523 crore was 13 per cent higher than the previous year.
jayanta.mallick@thehindu.co.in
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