Exide Industries jumps after Q1 earnings

The Q1 result was announced after market hours on Monday, 15 July 2013.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 288.96 points or 1.44% at 19,745.52.

On BSE, 34,000 shares were traded in the counter as against average daily volume of 1.94 lakh shares in the past two weeks.

The stock hit a high of Rs 128.35 and a low of Rs 121.05 so far during the day.

Ascribing the rise in the profitability in Q1 to better margin management, judicious product mix and cost reduction through value engineering, Mr P. K. Kataky, MD & CEO, Exide Industries said, "The improved financial performance is largely due to increased sales growth in the after-market segment of the automotive battery business. Our emphasis on value engineering also paid rich dividends to improve margins. These efforts will continue across all levels so that the momentum is carried into the future".

Mr. Kataky added, "The improved performance during the quarter is all the more significant because it comes at a time when the automotive OE business has suffered severely due to slack in demand from the industry. In the coming months, the depreciation of the rupee will increase the cost of imported lead. Performance of the industrial batteries business also remained damp due to overall stagnation in both the world as well as Indian economy. Even Home UPS battery sales were depressed during the quarter due to advance onset of the monsoon. Batteries for solar applications, however, are showing an encouraging growth trend".

Exide Industries is a leading manufacturer of lead acid batteries for automotive, telecom, traction, UPS, naval and motive power markets.

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