Indian battery maker Exide Industries misses Q3 profit view on higher costs

Exide Industries

24/01/2024 08:22

BENGALURU, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Indian battery maker Exide
Industries  EXID.NS  reported a smaller-than-expected rise in
quarterly profit on Wednesday as higher input costs ate into
earnings, despite strong demand from the automobile sector.
    Net profit after tax rose 7.7% to 2.40 billion rupees ($28.9
million) in the third quarter to Dec. 31, but missed analysts'
estimate of 2.62 billion rupees, according to LSEG data.
    Raw material costs climbed 11.6%, increasing total expenses
by 13%, even though prices of key input lithium carbonate fell.
The company did not specify which material costs increased.
    As a result, Exide's earnings before interest, taxes,
depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) margin declined
marginally to 11.5% from 11.8% a year earlier.
    "Input cost inflationary pressures have started easing,
which coupled with our cost optimisation initiatives is expected
to support margins," CEO and MD Subir Chakraborty said in a
statement.
    Demand for batteries increased from the automobile industry
as vehicle production rose in the October-December period.
    That helped Exide log a 12.6% growth in revenue - the
sharpest since the September 2022 quarter - to 38.41 billion
rupees. 
    The automobile industry is key to Exide's earnings,
accounting for more than two-thirds of its revenue.
    Rival battery maker Amara Raja Energy & Mobility  AMAR.NS 
will report its third-quarter results next week.

($1 = 83.1600 Indian rupees)

 (Reporting by Varun Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu
Sahu)
 ((varunvyas.hebbalalu@thomsonreuters.com;))