Amara Raja Batteries Q3 net up 18% at Rs 95 cr

Company had posted net profit of Rs 81 crore in the same period in 2012-13

Amara Raja Batteries today reported 17.6 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 95.01 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2013-14 fiscal.

It had posted net profit of Rs 80.91 crore in the same period in 2012-13, Amara Raja said in a statement.

Net sales during Q3, 2013-14 stood at Rs 859.95 crore as against Rs 756.41 crore in the year-ago period.

Amara Raja Batteries Vice Chairman and Managing Director Jayadev Galla said: "It is heartening to deliver a consistent good performance despite challenging economy, volatile rupee and sluggish demand in the automotive OEM and UPS sectors."

However, an early sign of slowdown in growth rate of four-wheeler automotive replacement demand requires a close watch and innovative approach to sustain double digit volume growth, he added.

The company said its automotive battery business reported double digit growth in revenue, aided by strong volume expansion in two-wheeler batteries and marginal volume growth in four-wheeler batteries.

The ongoing capacity expansions in two-wheeler and four-wheeler battery product lines are progressing as envisaged, it added.

The Industrial battery business reported flat volume for the quarter compared to the previous year, due to capacity constraints and subdued demand for UPS batteries.

However, the revenues grew in double digit owing to inflation and better product mix, the company added.

In the UPS segment, the company expanded the Quanta product range with the introduction of 12V-120 Ah and 12V-150 Ah batteries.

Shares of Amara Raja Batteries were trading at Rs 342.70 per scrip in the afternoon, up 3.21 per cent from the previous close, on the BSE.