Tuesday, July 02, 2013: According to Exide Industries, a sharp devaluation of rupee against dollar recently will result in a poor performance in the next quarter unless the demand situation improves. Its managing director and CEO, P K Kataky has reportedly said that its biggest worry is free fall of rupee and its impact on lead prices. Nearly 70 per cent of the company’s raw material cost is on lead. And, approximately 60 per cent of the total requirement (of lead) is imported. The rest is recycled locally.
Therefore, according to him, the only hope for the company now is increasing after-market sales and the arrival of monsoon as that should lead to increased demand for tractors which, in turn, would mean increased demand for batteries. A sudden fall in production of automobiles has also added to the problems of the company as 60 per cent of Exide’s capacities are slotted for automotive batteries.
