V-Guard Industries Ltd, a consumer electrical and electronics company, on Monday, said it had registered a consolidated profit after tax (PAT) of ₹3.64 crore, a steep fall of 93 per cent in the first quarter of the financial year 2020-21, compared to ₹53.03 crore in the same period of the previous year. The company has clearly been affected by the coronavirus-led shutdowns.

Speaking to BusinessLine , Sudarshan Kasturi, Chief Financial Officer, V-Guard Industries, said, “Q1 was an unusual quarter. Practically everything was closed.”

Consolidated net revenue from operations for the quarter ended June 30 was ₹408 crore. This is a decline of 42 per cent over the performance in the corresponding quarter of the previous year (₹706.65 crore).

Explaining the reasons for the dismal show, Kasturi said, “April was zero. Business opened in the third and fourth weeks of May. By the end of May, two-thirds of the channel partners were open. It’s been progressively getting better. By the end of June, 80 per cent of our markets were open.”

On capacity utilisation levels, he said, “Our wires plant is working at 70 per cent capacity. The other plant in Sikkim is shut down due to it being a containment zone.”

Kasturi said cashflows are at comfortable levels. “We are quite comfortable in cashflows. Whatever excess inventory we had in March, that has been used, which helped release cash. We had a closing cash of ₹350 crore as on June 30,” he said.

“Going forward, there will be a little uncertainty. In July, local lockdowns started which make predictions a little difficult. The lock-and-unlock scenario needs to be watched,” Kasturi cautioned.

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