Amara Raja Batteries hit a new 52-week high on the back of its very good performance for Q2FY14. The company posted a 35% rise in net profit at Rs.94 crore on a 12% rise in net sales at Rs.805 crore.  The company has stated that its effort to enhance the capacities of Two-wheeler battery in the existing plant has witnessed some delay and is likely to go on stream by end January 2014. The enhanced capacities will support the company to commence business with other major Two-wheeler OEMs and to grow the aftermarket business in a big manner, it said. The green field project for enhancement of Four-wheeler capacity is progressing as per schedule and is likely to commence production by Q2 of next financial year. The ongoing agitation for a united state of Andhra Pradesh in the Chittoor district has, so far, not had any major impact on the operations of the company, largely supported by the credibility enjoyed by the organization.

In terms of segment break up, the automotive battery business reported double digit growth in revenue, aided by strong volume expansion both in Four-wheeler and Two-wheeler batteries in the replacement market, while the OEM demand continued to be sluggish. The trading volume in home UPS business suffered due to unfavorable season on account of mild summer and good monsoon. The supplies of Two-wheeler batteries to Honda Motors have picked up momentum in line with their throughput enhancement. Looking ahead, the company feels confident of continuing its growth in industrial battery business enabled by the ongoing capacity expansions and preferred vendor status built over the years both in the Telecom and UPS sectors. The Medium VRLA battery capacity expansion project will be completed in January 2014 with about 4 months delay due to conscious change in specifications and delay in supply of certain key equipment. Also the Large VRLA expanded capacity will support the business from February 2014, the company said in a statement.