More Stories

Informist, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025

 

Please click here to read all liners published on this story

--Exide Ind: Demand in solar business declined in Jul-Sept 
--CONTEXT: Comments by Exide Ind's mgmt in post-earnings investor call 
--Exide Ind: See rebound in solar ops in Q3 on GST cuts 
--Exide Ind: See exports business degrowth continuing amid global conditions 
--Exide Ind: To commission first lithium-ion cell line for two-wheelers 
--Exide Ind: Lithium ion cell pricing will be negotiated with auto clients 
--Exide Ind: Hiked lead acid battery prices this year till mid-Sept 
--Exide Ind: Co's lithium ion business will mainly be B2B with EV makers 
--Exide Ind: Solar ops' end customers comfortable with lead acid cell tech 
--Exide Ind: Lithium ion cell ops' phase 2 capex depends on market adoption 

 

By Simran Rede and Rajesh Gajra

 

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI – Exide Industries Ltd. is set to commission its first ever lithium-ion cell line for two-wheelers, the company's management said in a post-earnings analyst conference call Monday. The company has invested about INR 5.80 billion in Apr-Sept in the lithium and cell manufacturing project by its wholly-owned subsidiary Exide Energy Solutions Ltd., its management said. The company is targeting commercial production from this new line of business by the end of 2025-26 (Apr-Mar).

 

The company's lithium-ion business will primarily be business-to-business with the end customers being electric vehicle makers or original equipment manufacturers in terms of passenger and commercial vehicles, the management said. This is because "the life of the battery is more than the life of the (electric) car in general," it said.

 

"But it has an aftermarket opportunity in two-wheelers and three-wheelers because of the applications, because those are used for a lot of commercial purposes," a top company official said. This aftermarket opportunity will be in city shuttling involving two-wheelers and three-wheelers where the battery runs "much more", it said.

 

The battery-maker said Indian original equipment manufacturers have already announced 10 new models in the last 12 months, and the company sees this as an opportunity to sell lithium-ion batteries.

 

Exide will decide the prices of lithium-ion batteries after negotiating with its automobile clients, the management said. Since the company's product will be a made-in-India one, the handling of quality improvement and technology development becomes easier, unlike imported vendors where it is complicated, and this will likely be a 'ease of doing business' attraction for domestic auto OEMs, the management said.

 

Asked about increasing the investments in its new lithium-ion cell business, the management said the company has completed the first phase of investment and the second phase will depend on market adoption, it said. "The phase two investment will not be same as phase one investment. It will be much lesser," the official said. The company believes that in a year or two, it will have a much better visibility of the market adoption and it will then take a call on the capital expenditure for the business. 

 

Exide Industries had hiked prices of lead acid batteries multiple times this year till Sept. 22 before a reduction in the goods and services tax on most products took effect, the company's management said.

 

In its solar business, the company witnessed a decline in demand in the September quarter. However, following the GST cut in solar combo packs to 5% from the earlier 12%, the company expects demand to rebound in the December quarter. Additionally, the Prime Minister Surya Ghar Yojana scheme that offers subsidies and low-interest loans to households for installing rooftop solar panels is also expected to help support demand.

 

On the profitability outlook for its upcoming lithium-ion cell production, Exide will initially be focused on utilisation rather than improving margins, the company official said. The company expects its lead-acid business margins to be in the 12–13% range going ahead. "We only hope lead (price) remains at the current level. And we should be able to do it once the top line growth comes back," he said.

 

The inverter battery business was heavily impacted by the extended monsoon and the announcement of GST rate cuts. "And I am very confident that in Q3 (Oct-Dec), all the pent-up demand or the deferred purchase decisions will come back and will bounce back," the official said.

 

The battery maker's revenue from operations for the September quarter, which declined 2.1% on year and 7.4% on quarter to INR 41.78 billion, was affected by weak exports. "Tariff uncertainties have heavily impacted the export business for the second consecutive quarter," the management said. The company expects "the situation to continue in similar trend until geopolitical tensions subside."

 

However, the company is taking "major active strides to new geographies and new portfolios where our dependence on the US and other countries reduce. Those activities are very much in place, and Q4 (Jan-Mar) onwards we will report you again an uptick in export business because we have found out additional markets, additional portfolios," the management said.

 

For the September quarter, the company's net profit fell almost 26% on year to INR 2.21 billion. At 1433 IST, shares of the company traded 0.5% higher at INR 383 on the National Stock Exchange.  End

 

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

 

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

 

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.

 

Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

 

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2025. All rights reserved.