Exide Q3 net rises 9.3%; to merge arms

Kolkata: Storage battery major Exide Industries has witnessed a 9.3% jump in net profit in the third quarter of this fiscal. It has posted a profit of Rs 223 crore from Rs 204 crore in the year-ago period. The revenue from operations grew by 7% and 23%, year-on-year in Q3FY23 and 9MFY23, respectively. The board of directors of Exide has also decided to merge two of its subsidiaries — Exide Energy (formerly Exide Leclanche Energy) and Exide Energy Solutions. “This is owing to the fact that both have similar kinds of business,” the company said. Exide Energy (EEPL) was incorporated in September 2018 as a joint venture company with Exide Industries (EIL) & Leclanche SA (LSA), Switzerland, to carry on the business of developing and manufacturing Li-ion based modules and packs with battery management system for e-mobility (EV) as well as stationary power application. The company has said that in the automotive vertical, overall volumes in the replacement market continues to grow. Demand from the OEMs was also strong as supply-side constraints abated, with chip supplies increasing globally. Subir Chakraborty, MD & CEO, Exide, said, “Sales growth was at 7% for the quarter, driven by volume growth. We expect the demand scenario to be positive across industrial verticals.”