Exide Industries delivered robust financial performance in the April-June quarter of fiscal 2027, with consolidated net profit surging 28% to ₹351.30 crore compared to ₹274.58 crore in the corresponding period last year. According to the company's regulatory filing, this significant profit growth demonstrates the company's strong operational efficiency and market positioning during the quarter. The earnings per share (EPS) increased 28.35% to ₹4.12 from ₹3.21 a year earlier, reflecting improved profitability per share. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, net profit surged by 62.1% from ₹216.73 crore in the March 2026 quarter, as reported by Angel One. However, total expenses increased to ₹5,068.78 crore from ₹4,338.12 crore in the same period a year ago, indicating higher operational costs during the quarter.
The company's EBITDA margin expanded to 12.4% in Q1 FY27, representing a 20 basis points year-on-year improvement and 70 basis points sequential growth. According to CNBC TV18, this margin expansion was driven by higher revenue, cost control measures and supply chain efficiencies, despite elevated input costs and adverse currency movements. Management implemented price corrections of 4% to 6% across various categories during the quarter to partially offset these headwinds. The company expects lithium-ion cell pricing dynamics to change after China's export VAT rebate removal from January 2027, which could further support margin improvement. For Q2, management indicated a dynamic, step-by-step pricing approach instead of a single large adjustment, with pricing actions to be monitored closely.
The company's revenue from operations grew 17.8% to ₹5,528.38 crore in the quarter from ₹4,695.12 crore in the same quarter of the previous year. As reported in the regulatory filing, total income rose 17.63% to ₹5,555.3 crore from ₹4,722.7 crore on a year-on-year basis. Total income for the June 2026 quarter amounted to ₹5,555.25 crore, representing a 17.2% increase from ₹4,739.37 crore recorded in the March 2026 quarter. EBITDA advanced 15.5% to ₹621 crore from ₹538 crore in Q1FY26, though EBITDA margin eased to 11.2% from 11.5% in the year-ago period. Profit before tax (PBT) increased to ₹487 crore from ₹384.9 crore a year ago, while finance costs declined significantly to ₹19.8 crore from ₹32.4 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.
The company witnessed broad-based growth across businesses during the quarter, with the automotive OEM business growing more than 25% year-on-year for the third consecutive quarter. According to Managing Director and CEO Avik Roy, the company entered FY27 with strong momentum, supported by robust demand across the automotive replacement market, automotive OEMs, home inverters, industrial UPS, solar and exports. The 2W/4W replacement business posted another quarter of double-digit growth, while the inverters and solar business expanded by over 20%, and exports also returned to growth with a more than 20% increase from a low base. The industrial infrastructure business, excluding telecom, maintained low double-digit year-on-year growth, supported by demand from infrastructure-linked and industrial applications. Roy noted that increased affordability and positive sentiment from GST 2.0 reforms continued to drive automotive demand into the new financial year, with the replacement market remaining robust.
Exide provided significant updates on its lithium-ion cell manufacturing project through subsidiary Exide Energy Solutions Ltd. The company infused ₹100 crore into the subsidiary during July 2026, taking its cumulative equity investment to ₹4,902 crore. According to the company, all four production lines at the Bengaluru gigafactory have now been fully installed and utility infrastructure has been commissioned. The first customer samples from its Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC) cylindrical cell line were dispatched during the quarter, while the Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) prismatic line has also commenced sample supplies. However, CFO noted that the lithium pack business is currently unprofitable due to low value addition from imported cells, with initial margins remaining difficult to estimate as the company is at the early stage of production with yields still improving. The facility has 100% of equipment fully installed across all four manufacturing lines and all underlying utility networks completely operationalized.
Exide Industries shares were trading at ₹447.70 on Tuesday morning, up 0.67% or ₹3 from the previous close of ₹444.70, after the battery maker reported strong Q1 FY27 performance. The stock touched an intraday high of ₹457.45 and a low of ₹441.60, with over 20.70 lakh shares changing hands valued at ₹92.75 crore by 10.42 am. Sell pressure was dominant with 76.96% of orders on the sell side. The stock's total market cap stood at ₹38,054.50 crore and has gained 23.25% year-to-date, trading at a P/E of 40.36. Analyst reactions were mixed but broadly constructive, with Citi maintaining a 'Buy' rating and raising its target price to ₹510 from ₹410, citing strong earnings beats and the approaching commercial production phase of the lithium-ion cell manufacturing unit. Nomura also retained 'Buy' with a target of ₹492, flagging stronger OEM growth and lithium plant commencement as future upside, while Kotak Securities maintained 'Sell' with a marginally raised target of ₹325, warning about pressure on profitability and return ratios due to high capital expenditure requirements.
