Exide Industries Q4 net profit dips by 6% at Rs 164 crore

Kolkata: Battery manufacturer Exide Industries on Thursday reported a 5.95 % decline in net profit at Rs 164.78 crore for the fourth-quarter (Q4) ending March 31, 2017. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 175.21 crore in the corresponding period previous year.

Total income from operations, however, was up 11.36 % to Rs 2,225.43 crore during the quarter under review as against Rs 1,998.36 crore in the previous corresponding period.

For the financial year ended March 31, 2017, the company reported a net profit of Rs 693.64 crore (Rs 624.46 crore), profit before tax of Rs 975.73 crore (Rs 908.18 crore) and a gross turnover of Rs 8590.55 crore (Rs 7727.58 crore).

Exide Industries CEO & MD G Chatterjee said that while growth in replacement sale of automotive and motorcycle batteries continues to be encouraging, demand in OEM business has also improved in Q4 FY 2017. "Growth in UPS and home UPS batteries have shown improvement this quarter. However, rising lead price continues to be a major concern," he added.

Going forward, the company plans to focus on cost control and technology upgradation to improve its bottomline.

The company's board has recommended a final dividend of Re. 0.80 paisa per share of Re 1 each. "The total dividend for the year ended March 31, 2017, including interim dividend of Rs 1.60 per share amounts to Rs 2.40 per share," the company stated in a BSE filing.