Amara Raja extends gains amid Q3 profit despite weak demand

Q3 net profit rises 18% despite challenging business environment, weak demand

Shares of Amara Raja Batteries extended gains today and the stock was up 3% at RS 349 after the car battery major posted growth in net profit despite a challenging business environment and weak demand from the auto segment.

Amara Raja Batteries reported 18% growth in net profit at Rs 95 crore for the third quarter ended December 2013 compared with Rs 81 crore in the same period last fiscal, Amara Raja said in a release.

Net sales during the third quarter were up 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.