Eveready Industries posts Rs 38.41 crore net loss in March quarter

Battery and flashlights maker Eveready Industries India Ltd on Monday reported narrowing of its consolidated net loss to Rs 38.41 crore in the fourth quarter ended March.

The company had posted a net loss of Rs 442.53 crore in the January-March period a year ago, it said in a regulatory filing.

Its revenue from operations rose 17.82 per cent to Rs 294.33 crore during the quarter under review. In the year-ago period, the same stood at Rs 249.81 crore.

"The quarter continued to experience lower demand in all categories as inflation ruled high. Also, very significant input cost increases due to supply chain disruptions and overall inflationary pressures impacted margins severely. Price increases were taken to offset this resulted in market resistance," the company said.

The flashlights category continued to suffer on account of dumped imports from China, it added.

Eveready Industries' total expenses stood at Rs 241.23 crore in the latest quarter, down 11.51 per cent from the year-ago period.

For the fiscal year ended March 2022, Eveready Industries posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 46.47 crore. It had reported a net loss of Rs 311.52 crore in the previous year.

Its revenue from operations was at Rs 1,206.75 crore in 2021-22. This is 3.38 per cent lower than Rs 1.248.98 crore in the same period a year ago.

The quarter and the year ended March 2022 were "also impacted due to one-time provisioning done as a measure of prudence, for certain disputed receivables and inventories, and on account of restructuring costs" for a total amount of Rs 27 crore. There were also additional communication and consultation costs of Rs 18 crore as against the comparable quarter last year.

In a separate regulatory filing, the company said that "no dividend has been recommended" by the board for the financial year ended March 31, 2022.

Share of Eveready Industries India Ltd on Monday settled at Rs 319.10 on BSE, down 0.98 per cent from the previous close.