Eveready Industries shares jump 7% as Q4 loss narrows

Shares of Eveready Industries jumped 7 per cent in Wednesday's trade as the company reported narrowing of losses for the March quarter. Loss for the quarter came in at Rs 21.9 crore compared with a Rs 38.4 crore loss in the same quarter last year.

Total income for the quarter, Eveready Industries, said jumped 18 per cent to Rs 286.20 crore from Rs 241.20 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

Gross margin for the quarter stood at 37.5 per cent against 36 per cent YoY.

Eveready Industries shares rose 56.74 per cent to hit a high of Rs 299.35 crore on BSE. Despite this, the stock has fallen 11.43 per cent year-to-date.

Eveready Industries said its profit for the quarter and for the financial year 2022-23 was impacted adversely by non-cash charge of Rs 17.40 crore against unamortised front-end fees for loans repaid during the quarter and the full year. The charges are non-recurring in nature and will therefore not impact profitability in subsequent periods. Underlying profitability continues to stay aligned with operating trends, Eveready Industries said.

Managing Director Suvamoy Saha said: “We have concluded the year on a favourable note, and are headed in the right direction with our initiatives. In batteries we have taken advantage of our brand salience and distribution reach, and have attained growth of more than 13 per cent for the full year and increased our market share in a stagnant market. In Flashlights our sights are set on growing presence in the rechargeable category, which as a category continues to lead growth for the overall industry."

Saha added that his company pushing ahead with a wider SKU portfolio and distribution reach in the LED Lighting segment and achieved a growth of 24 per cent during the year.

Eveready Industries said its key focus for the forthcoming period is to improve upon the growth momentum that it created in FY23 and expand its gross margin and Ebitda significantly on the back of premiumisation and relief from materials inflation, even after sustaining A&P at higher levels.

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