Exide Q2 net up 92% to Rs 149cr

Battery major Exide Industries Ltd has reported a 92 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 149.67 crore for the quarter ended September 30, against Rs 77.84 crore for the corresponding period last fiscal.

The firm achieved net sales of Rs 950.31 crore  in the second quarter ended of this financial year, against net sales of Rs 900.44 crore in the corresponding period of 2008-2009, a rise of five per cent.

Similarly, total income also saw a rise of five per cent to Rs 950.70 crore for the quarter, against Rs 900.83 in the same period last fiscal.

The company's MD and CEO  T V Ramanathan said, “The robust growth in profit level was possible due to a number of internal strategic initiatives taken 18 months ago and also due to turnaround of the automotive sector in the July – September period. We benefitted by being able to source nearly 40 per cent of our lead and lead alloy requirements from its own captive smelters.”

Since April 2009, the company was able to repay most of its term borrowings which has resulted in considerable savings in interest costs, he said.

“Both automotive sector and industrial battery segments did particularly well, thereby giving us all round growth. The recent volatility observed in the lead prices remains a cause of concern.  However, availability of captive smelters and continued investment in technology upgradation is expected to mitigate any adverse impact arising from escalations in lead prices,” he added.

The company has also declared an Interim Dividend of 60 per cent representing Rs 0.60 per share of the face value of share of Rs 1 each.