Exide Industries shares open in green despite 25% drop in Q2 net profit

Shares of Exide Industries will be in focus after the company announced its Q2 FY26 results on Friday evening. The shares opened in green despite a weak set of numbers owing to short-term challenges influenced by GST reforms. The shares traded flat at ₹380 apiece on the NSE at 9:20 am after opening in green.

The total revenue for the quarter declined 2.09% YoY to ₹4178 crore as compared to ₹4267 crore. The modest revenue growth was largely due to weak demand in the industry, resulting from dealers' postponement of purchases due to the GST reforms. GST on batteries were reduced from 28% to 18% in the latest reforms announced by the Government.

At the operational level, the company’s EBITDA for the quarter declined 41% YoY to ₹285 crore as against ₹484 crore in the previous year’s same quarter. The margins were impacted primarily due to higher raw material prices and tariff-linked pressures on the export front.

Lastly, on the bottom line, front net profit for the quarter declined 25% YoY to ₹221 crore as against ₹298 crore in the same period last year. Weak demand and operational pressure altogether impacted the weak bottom-line performance for the quarter.

The company said the GST reforms came with key short-term challenges, as the company took production cuts during the quarter to reduce the inventory costs. Additionally, weak demand and offtake also led to under-recovery of fixed costs.

Exide Industries Limited is one of the leading manufacturers and distributors of lead-acid batteries and storage solutions, committed to providing unparalleled solutions and services for multiple energy applications worldwide. The company designs, manufactures, markets and sells the widest range of lead acid storage batteries in the world, to cover the broadest spectrum of applications.