Exide Industries, which witnessed growth in demand for its products in the first quarter of this fiscal, is hopeful of higher sales volumes and improvement in profitability during the coming quarters.

PK Kataky, MD and CEO, told reporters after its AGM on Tuesday that the company did particularly well in replacement market of the automotive battery segment in June. “The OEM segment neither showed growth nor decline”, he added. The replacement market, which accounts for 30 per cent of the turnover of automotive batteries, churns out better margins, according to company officials.

Kataky said the replacement market was likely to improve further in the second and third quarters. “Demand from the taxi and commercial vehicle sub-segments within the replacement market are expected to pick up”, he said. Telecom battery business’ market share also jumped from 8 per cent to 20 per cent as demand picked up in the Q1. Inverter batteries, which also fetch better margins, showed growth.

₹350-crore capex The company would incur capital expenditure of around ₹350 crore at its existing battery manufacturing locations during the current fiscal. “In case of automotive batteries, focus would on technology upgradation, while in case of industrial batteries, thrust would on capacity expansion,” Kataky explained.

AK Mukherjee, Director Finance & CFO, said the company had made investment of ₹135 crore for growth in its insurance business in the last fiscal.

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