India's Exide Industries Q2 profit misses view on weak car demand, shares hit 5-mth low

Exide Industries

04/11/2024 08:37

Nov 4 (Reuters) - Indian battery maker Exide Industries
 EXID.NS  reported a smaller-than-expected second-quarter profit
on Monday, as muted demand from carmakers offset steady
replacement demand, sending its shares to a five-month low.
    Standalone profit after tax for the July-September quarter
rose 3.8% to 2.98 billion rupees ($35.43 million), falling short
of analysts' estimate of 3.09 billion rupees, according to data
compiled by LSEG.
    Exide's shares dropped as much as 4.6% to 437.80 rupees
after the results were announced, hitting their lowest since
June 4.
    Exide is one of India's biggest battery makers and gets
nearly 70% of its sales from automotive clients.
    But sales of cars to dealers fell for the first time in more
than two years in the September quarter, as manufacturers
moderated dispatches to help reduce high levels of unsold cars.
    "Excess channel inventories... dampened demand" from
automotive clients, the company said in a statement.
    That led to a revenue miss, with Exide's quarterly revenue
of 42.67 billion rupees, falling short of analysts' estimate of
44.39 billion rupees.
    However, replacement demand - where customers replace older
vehicle parts with newer ones - was "robust", the company said.
    Rival Amara Raja  AMAR.NS  will report its second-quarter
earnings later in the day.

($1 = 84.1050 Indian rupees)
    

 (Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi
Aich)
 ((Nandan.Mandayam@thomsonreuters.com; Mobile: +91 9591011727;))