Exide Industries on Monday posted fiscal second quarter profit at Rs 270.32 crore, up 12.1 per cent in comparison to Rs 241.12 crore during the corresponding quarter of FY23. It posted revenue from operations at Rs 4371.52 crore, up 13.8 per cent as against Rs 3841.13 crore during the same period last year. The company EBITDA stood at Rs 499.1 crore, up 15.7 per cent on-year.
While the total income during the second quarter of FY24 was at Rs 4408.91 crore, total expenditure incurred during the period in review was at Rs 4043.57 crore.
Meanwhile, on a standalone basis, Exide Industries Q2FY24 profits grew at an impressive rate with EBITDA and PBT increasing by 17 per cent each. EBITDA and PBT margins respectively were 11.8 per cent and 9.4 per cent in the current quarter, compared to 11.1 per cent and 8.8 per cent in the same quarter in the previous year. “Our disciplined and judicious approach to cost management continues to lower fixed costs. Other expenses as a percentage of sales declined to 13.1 per cent in Q2FY24 from 13.5 per cent in Q2FY23,” it said.
Exide Industries’ Q2 performance across segments
Exide Industries said that in the automotive division, demand has started picking up both with the OEMs and in the replacement market, thereby supporting volumes across end-user verticals. It further added that large-scale public and private sector investments in sectors such as solar, telecom, traction, railways, infrastructure, financial services etc, are driving strong order inflow and sales growth in the industrial division.
“We continue to deliver an upbeat performance with operating profits growing by 17 per cent and 14 per cent in the second quarter and the first half of the current financial year respectively. Sales growth of 10 per cent during the quarter was broad-based with both automotive and industrial verticals growing at a healthy pace. Input costs were slightly lower, and this with effective cost optimisation initiatives aided growth in profits,” said Subir Chakraborty, MD & CEO, Exide Industries.
“In the near-to-medium-term, we are optimistic of the demand scenario and believe that with our future-ready product portfolio, pan-India market presence and cost efficiencies, we will continue to deliver sustainable and profitable growth. Our lithium-ion cell manufacturing project is progressing well. We are excited about the future and look forward to becoming one of the leading domestic players offering state-of-the-art products and solutions in the fast-growing electric mobility space as well as for stationary applications,” he added.
In Q2FY24, Exide Industries said that it had invested Rs 275 crore by way of subscription in the equity share capital of the wholly owned subsidiary, Exide Energy Solutions Limited (EESL). So far, Exide has invested Rs 1,530 crore as equity in EESL, including an investment of Rs 440 crore in October 2023.