Exide net profit up 7pc in June quarter

Battery major Exide Industries on Friday reported a seven percent on-year increase in standalone net profit to Rs 224.29 crore in the first quarter of the current financial year. The company had posted a standalone net profit of Rs 209.92 crore during the corresponding quarter a year ago.

During the April-June period, its net turnover was at Rs 2,779.25 crore, as against Rs 2,772.46 crore during the quarter ended June 30, 2018. Commenting on the earnings, Exide MD and CEO G Chatterjee said demand of automotive batteries remained under pressure, while growth in UPS, telecom and other infrastructure segments continued in the reporting quarter.

The Kolkata-headquartered company is focusing on cost control and technology up-gradation as strategies to improve the bottom-line. The battery maker reported a 14 percent decline in its consolidated net profit to Rs 161.58 crore in the June quarter.

Revenue from operations during the quarter under review was at Rs 3,664.18 crore, up marginally from Rs 3,553 crore in the same period of FY19. Exide, in the segment report, said loss before tax of its life insurance business was at Rs 65 crore during first quarter of the current fiscal.

However, revenue from the life insurance business soared to Rs 818 crore from Rs 697 crore in the year-ago period, the company reported.