Exide Industries Limited

Exide Industries achieved its highest-ever quarterly revenue in Q4 FY26, with overall revenue growing 9.4% year-on-year. This strong performance was primarily driven by a robust 12.5% year-on-year growth in the domestic business. Key segments such as 2-wheeler and 4-wheeler OEM, home UPS, and solar all demonstrated double-digit growth, with the Auto OEM business notably recording a 25% YoY increase for the second consecutive quarter. For the full year FY26, the company delivered 4.1% YoY overall revenue growth, with domestic business growing 7.5% YoY.

Despite facing significant commodity cost pressures, resulting in a Rs. 150 crores negative impact in Q4 FY26, Exide Industries managed to maintain its EBITDA margin at 11.7% on a sequential basis, expanding it by nearly 50 basis points year-on-year. The gross margin, however, saw a sequential decline of 90 basis points to 30.1% from 31.6% in Q3. To counteract rising input costs, particularly sulfur which increased five-fold from Rs. 15/kg to Rs. 74/kg in a year, the company implemented multiple price hikes (5-6%) across various businesses from January to April.

Exide Industries continued its substantial investment in the lithium-ion cell manufacturing project, committing Rs. 600 crores in Q4 FY26 and a total of Rs. 1,500 crores for the full year FY26. This brings the total equity investment in Exide Energy, its subsidiary, to Rs. 4,802 crores to date. For FY27, the company has approved an additional investment of Rs. 1,400 crores, which will cover both CAPEX and OPEX working capital requirements. The strategic goal is to achieve cost parity with imported cells by targeting over 85% plant utilization and a 90% yield.

The company is making steady progress towards commercializing its lithium-ion cell production. Customer sample deliveries for cylindrical lines are expected to commence around May 2026, following internal validations. Product trials for prismatic lines are set to begin shortly thereafter, with customer samples targeted for delivery by June/July. Management anticipates that the revenue stream from prismatic lines will materialize quicker than cylindrical lines due to less extensive validation requirements. The total planned capacity for the Li-ion facility is 6 gigawatts, equally split between cylindrical (3 GW) and prismatic (3 GW) cell chemistries.

The Exports business experienced a significant decline in Q4 FY26, primarily attributed to ongoing geopolitical tensions. Management anticipates that these uncertainties will continue to impact export performance at least through the first half of FY27. Furthermore, traditional segments like Telecom and E-Rickshaw are undergoing a structural shift, with demand increasingly moving towards lithium-ion technology, posing a challenge for the legacy lead-acid business in these areas.

The outlook for the lead-acid business remains positive, with expectations of high single-digit to early double-digit growth for the core business in the medium term. However, the company remains cautiously optimistic^💬, closely monitoring the domestic demand situation and potential inflationary pressures. Management emphasized the critical need for government support and a clear policy framework to foster local cell manufacturing, particularly for electrode production, to reduce reliance on volatile imports and build a robust domestic supply chain, especially as the Indian EV market grows.