Exide Q2 net up 50%, income up 34%

Exide Industries today reported a 50.41% increase in net profit at Rs 43.74 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2006 when compared with Rs 29.08 crore in Q2FY06.

According to a release issued by the company to the BSE today, total income increased 33.81% to Rs 453.58 crore from Rs 338.96 crore in Q2FY06.

Commenting on the results, S B Ganguly, CEO and executive chairman of Exide, said: "The galloping demand in both automotive and industrial segments, coupled with improved production efficiency and tight leash on costs, have helped us achieve yet another set of excellent financial numbers."

Talking about the future prospects of the company, Ganguly said that while fluctuating lead prices remained a cause of concern, the healthy rise in demand across segments would keep the bottomline robust.  "We are looking at the possibilities of expanding our production capacities not only to meet the rising domestic demand but also for the foreign markets, especially in the Asia Pacific region."

Work on the new factory in Haldia is going on in full swing and the first phase of the project is expected to be completed by the end of the current financial year, the release added.