On a consolidated basis, though revenue for the quarter ended 30^th Sept 214 grew 9%, net profit rose only 1%at Rs.112 crore v/s Rs.113 crore in Q2FY14, a flat set of numbers. Advertising and sales promotion costs as a percentage of net revenue went up from 1.3% to 3.5% (YoY) and this impacted the EBITDA margin, which came down from 14.4% to 13.2%. Net profit margin also declined from 10.7% to 8.8%. Tax outgo almost doubled up to Rs.47 crore from Rs.30 crore. This increase in taxation was due to reduction or expiry of available tax exemption in certain manufacturing plants of the company. Higher tax rate drove lower PAT growth. The tax amount was calculated based on certain applicable rate 28% for FY15. Also there has been a change in calculation of depreciation. Thus depreciation in Q2FY15 has increased by Rs.5 crore.

In terms of segment wise break-up, switchgears rose 8%, cable segment revenue grew 21%, lighting and fixtures rose 8% and electrical consumer durables rose 25% - clearly this is the segment which is driving the business. The lighting product portfolio has been diversifying more towards LED. Growth in cables was aided by better growth in flexible cables.  The just finished festive season will show whether the high spend on advertisement will pay off or not.  There has been an increase in working capital in Q2FY15 mainly because of the increase in inventory days. Net working capital days rose from 10 days to 20 days