BENGALURU (Reuters) – Consumer appliances maker Bajaj Electricals reported a fourth straight quarter of profit decline on Tuesday, missing estimates due to sluggish demand for its lights, water heaters and kitchen appliances.
The Mumbai-based company said consolidated net profit fell to 293.1 million rupees ($3.5 million) for the three months ended March 31, from 518.5 million rupees a year earlier.
Analysts, on average, had expected a profit of 573.2 million rupees, as per LSEG data.
Revenue from its lighting products segment fell 11.3% to 2.71 billion rupees, while revenue from the segment that makes air coolers, fans, room heaters and kitchen appliances, reported a drop of 7% as consumers postponed discretionary purchases amidst persistent inflation.
Sales in its lighting products segment dropped due to lower prices of LED products in consumer lighting and a higher base effect in professional lighting, the company said in a statement.
Additionally, the company approved a proposal to borrow funds through the issuance of non-convertible debentures, up to an amount not exceeding 5 billion rupees, via private placement.
The board also recommended a dividend of 3 rupees per share for the fiscal year ended March.
Shares of Bajaj Electricals closed 3% higher on Tuesday and are down 4% so far this year.
($1 = 83.5064 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Navamya Ganesh Acharya in Bengaluru)
