Eveready Industries' Q2 profit halves; revenue from operations up 5.3%

(Reuters) - Eveready Industries India Ltd on Friday said September quarter profit more than halved, hit by a charge related to a loan repayment and higher input costs.

Consolidated profit for the three months ended Sept. 30 fell to 147.3 million Indian rupees ($1.79 million) from 310.4 million rupees a year earlier, it said in an exchange filing.

Revenue from operations rose 5.3% to 3.76 billion rupees.

The profit was hurt by a non-cash charge related to an unamortised front-end fees of a loan repaid during the quarter and an adjustment to deferred taxes, Eveready said in a statement. The charge will even out for the full year, it said, without giving any further details.

Quarterly expenses rose about 11% to 3.55 billion rupees, after input costs jumped 32.8% from a year ago.

Demand was "sluggish" in the wake of high inflation and a delayed monsoon, Suvamoy Saha, managing director, said, adding that the company is revamping it business mix for key markets.

The changing product mix and better realization helped expand revenue last quarter, the company said.

Indian companies, including Eveready, account for 4.21%-4.79% of the global consumer battery market which is set to expand by $9.7 billion through 2026, as per a report by market research firm Technavio.

Shares of Eveready closed 1.3% down at 295.85 rupees after the earnings were announced.

($1 = 82.4625 Indian rupees)

 

(Reporting by Biplob Kumar Das in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil)