Exide Industries Ltd, the Rs 954-crore storage battery maker, has reported a net profit of Rs 7.7 crore for the third quarter (Q3) ended December 31, 2001, compared with Rs 6.8 crore for Q3 ended December 31, 2000. Net sales for Q3 this fiscal was at Rs 196 crore against Rs 173 crore in the comparable period in 2000.
Exide had reported slightly lower profit after tax (PAT) on higher sales for the second quarter (Q2) as well as the first half (H1) of the current fiscal. Exide's Q2 sales stood at Rs 251 crore, up from Rs 247 crore in Q2 of last year, while H1 sales stood at Rs 469 crore against Rs 442 crore last year. Profit after tax for Q2 in the current fiscal was Rs 12.2 crore (Rs 14 crore), while PAT for H1 this year was Rs 15 crore (Rs 21 crore).
The company reported substantially lower interest outgo in Q3 of the current fiscal at Rs 8.8 crore (Rs 11 crore), while marginally higher depreciation at Rs 11 crore (Rs 10 crore) eased pressure on margins. Automobile as well as telecom sector sales have picked up by more than 20 per cent in Q3.
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Chairman and chief executive officer S B Ganguly pointed out that the company has done well despite the general economic slowdown because of new initiatives across all the divisions. Auto battery sales in Q3 stood at Rs 116 crore while industrial battery sales were at Rs 78 crore.
Capital employed in the two divisions stood at Rs 406 crore for auto batteries and Rs 343 crore for industrials.
In the nine months of this fiscal, Exide's net sales stood at Rs 573 crore (Rs 530 crore) but net profit was lower at Rs 23 crore (Rs 28 crore) owing to higher raw material costs at Rs 297 crore (Rs 291 crore) and staff costs at Rs 55 crore (Rs 51 crore).