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Eveready Industries India Limited is in “the midst of a transformation” of its business and has taken steps to address areas of weakness in its operations and product portfolio, while the battery and flashlight maker expects growth in the coming days, with its Managing Director said Suvamay Saha.
Addressing shareholders in the recent annual report, Saha said, “While the operating results were somewhat disappointing, a good area to highlight is the balance sheet, which has been under stress in the recent past.”
Saha, who joined Eveready as managing director in March this year after Khaitan’s exit, said, “Measures taken through prudential provisioning have now corrected that shortcoming.”
The company’s former joint managing director Saha was asked to take over the responsibilities as interim managing director following the resignations of former non-executive chairman Aditya Khaitan and former managing director Amritanshu Khaitan on March 3. a controlling stake in the company.
Burman holds 19.84 per cent stake in Eveready and has announced an open offer to acquire another 26 per cent at Rs 320 per share.
“Despite the results, I am confident that the company is now on a journey towards higher reach and is in the midst of a transformation that the road map provides. The company has now taken steps to address the areas of weakness in its operations and product portfolio,” he said.
According to Saha, work is underway to improve each of these areas such as portfolio growth, consumer reach and process improvement.
“The fundamental strengths of the businesses remain intact – solid brands, strong distribution reach and high market share across core categories of batteries and flashlights. The company’s management is now focused on harnessing these strengths purely for the delivery of results,” he said .
Saha said that some initiatives may take some time to flourish, but they are clearly meant for long-term and sustainable value creation.
“I know that the growth of the company in the past has been negligible. This is a marked area for improvement. In this direction, the company is working to formulate a strategy for growth and improve the existing operational areas,” They said.
Eveready’s emphasis will be on growth in the days to come. He said the existing businesses of batteries, flashlights and lighting already provide that opportunity.
The uncertainties caused by the war and pandemic led to major disruptions in the supply chain and a significant increase in material prices. Rising inflation was also an inevitable consequence and the Indian market was affected by these factors.
“Demand for FMCG products has been witnessed by a large segment of the market, especially in rural areas. Despite this, the Indian market remained resilient with really good progress made in many areas,” said Saha.
However, he added that some FMCG players showed reasonable financial results.
“Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about your company. Turnover during the year declined by 3.4 per cent to Rs 1,248.76 crore, mainly due to slowdown in the fourth quarter in the core categories of batteries and flashlights, and appliance business in the second half. Due to the gradual exit from it,” he said.
Eveready’s core business of batteries led to an unprecedented increase in costs, necessitating an increase in prices, resulting in market resistance.
“The good news is that the company maintained its market share at 52.8% (AC Nielsen) during the quarter, indicating that the market slowdown was an industry-wide phenomenon. In any case, these factors have been addressed and this begins to bear fruit in the results of the later period. I am confident that the battery business will return to higher levels of business and profitability is not too far in the future,” said Saha.
The flashlight market was badly hit by cheap imports dumped from China and the company has adjusted its product portfolio to meet the needs of the market and Saha expects this to help Eveready recover the lost market share. Will help.
“The lighting business is an area of growth for the company. This business already comprises 20 per cent of the total business of the company,” he said, adding that the company is now completely focused on providing the consumer with a range of products relevant to him and at prices that offer the best value for his money. Yes, said Saha.
“Our accent will be focused on growth over the coming days. Our existing businesses in batteries, flashlights and lighting already provide that opportunity. We have the teams and processes in place to make this possible. I am confident that the future results will be from this.” Will justify the belief,” he said.
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