Amara Raja Q4 net up 12 pc

Amara Raja Batteries Ltd reported a net profit of Rs 41.11 crore for the three months ended March 31, 2011, compared with Rs 36.69 crore in the same period last fiscal, a growth of 12 per cent.

The company, which makes lead acid storage batteries, said its revenues in the quarter grew 16.12 per cent to Rs 502.33 crore from Rs 432.56 crore.

For the fiscal 2010-11 however, net profit slipped 11.33 per cent to Rs 148.09 crore from Rs 167.03 crore a year ago. Annual revenues grew 20.32 per cent to Rs 1,764.79 crore (Rs 1,466.63 crore).

It said the slowdown in telecom network expansion coupled with sharing of tower infrastructure resulted in reduced market potential and presented challenges in volume and price realisation.

Though price erosion in the telecom segment impacted margins, aggressive cost management and higher share of UPS batteries helped it achieve better than planned margins, a company release said.

For 2011-12, it said the thrust areas would be UPS and emerging applications in renewable energy along with focus on export markets. It has started supplying products to the African telecom network by partnering with Bharti Africa. The company is also expanding production capacity to capitalise on the opportunities in the automobile battery segment.

The board has recommended a dividend of 130 per cent, or Rs 2.60 per equity share of Rs 2, subject to the approval of shareholders. Once approved at its AGM scheduled for August 13, the dividend would be paid by September 5, 2011.

On the BSE, Amara Raja scrip ended the trade at Rs 206.05, up 2.08 per cent from its previous close of Rs 201.85.