Exide Inds

Exide industries, once again, like in Q3, posted a set of disappointing numbers for Q4FY13. In Q3, the reason was lower offtake and slide in value of rupee. This time around, the culprit remains poor offtake, with demand from both, automotive and industrial sector remaining subdued. But the good news here is that Q4 was not as bad as Q4 as the steady rupee helped curtail the damage. For Q4, the company posted a net sales at Rs.1608 crore, up 23% sequentially and 4% YoY. Raw material costs, YoY saw a rise of 15% and overall operating costs rise 4%. It ended the quarter with a net profit at Rs.132 crore, down 10% (YoY) but up 71% (QoQ).

For FY14, the performance remained muted with a consolidated net profit of Rs.544 crore v/s Rs.549 crore in Fy13. Net sales at Rs.8309 crore was up 30% but rise in costs flattened the bottomline. The company cannot improve falling demand as that is the state of the economy but looking ahead, it hopes to improve numbers through tight cost control and technology upgradation.