Indian lead-acid battery maker Exide Industries reported a smaller-than-expected rise in first-quarterly profit on Friday, hurt by high raw material costs and rising expenses.
The Kolkata-based company said its net profit after tax for the quarter ended June 30 stood at 2.42 billion rupees (USD 29.41 million), compared with 2.26 billion rupees.
Analysts on average expected a profit of 2.66 billion rupees, according to Refinitiv data.
Raw material costs “remained firm” during the quarter, and total expenses grew nearly 4% to 37.70 billion rupees, the company said in a statement.
“We expect overall demand scenario to be positive in the near-term and profitability levels to increase, supported by easing of input cost inflation and further realisation of cost efficiency initiatives”, Managing Director and Chief Executive Subir Chakraborty said in a statement.
The company, which has clients in the auto, industrial, telecom and railway sectors, reported a near 4% rise in its revenue from operations to 40.73 billion rupees.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) margins expanded 10.6% from 9.9% a year earlier, the company said in an exchange filing.
Auto parts suppliers in the country have benefited during the April-June quarter from demand for new models and festive season.
Exide’s shares have gained 33.01% in the quarter but fell 2.9% after the results were announced. (USD 1 = 82.2881 Indian rupees)
