Voltas Q4 profit slumps 21% on provisions over contract terminations

BENGALURU (Reuters) - India's Voltas Ltd posted a 21.2% drop in fourth-quarter profit, as the air conditioner and refrigerator maker remained under pressure from the termination of some overseas contracts.

Consolidated net profit fell to 1.44 billion rupees ($17.62 million) in the quarter ended March 31, compared with 1.83 billion rupees a year earlier, the company said.

Voltas, which competes with Blue Star, made provisions of 2.44 billion rupees during the quarter due to the termination of some contracts in Dubai and Qatar last year.

The contract terminations have been a drag on Voltas for three straight quarters.

Revenue from operations rose nearly 10.9% to 29.57 billion rupees for the three months ended March 31, from 26.67 billion rupees a year earlier.

Its biggest segment, unitary cooling products, reported a 12.7% rise in revenue.

"The unitary cooling products business has relatively performed better amid the lower consumer sentiment towards discretionary spend and incessant rains in March 2023," Voltas said in a statement.

($1 = 81.7400 Indian rupees)

 

(Reporting by Anisha Ajith in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)