Bajaj Electricals posts Rs 10 crore loss in FY20; consumer products maintain momentum

Bajaj Electricals has reported a loss of Rs 10.23 crore in the financial years ended March 31, 2020 on the back of disruptions caused due to the coronavirus pandemic. The company had posted a profit of Rs 153.58 crore in the previous year.

During FY20, Bajaj Electricals saw its total revenue from operations declining by 25.3 per cent to Rs 4,987.23 crore from Rs 6,679.41 crore in FY19.

For the quarter ended March 31, 2020, Bajaj Electricals reported a loss of Rs 1 crore, as opposed to a profit of Rs 23 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Total revenue from operations declined 26.7 per cent during the quarter under review to Rs 1,300.66 crore from Rs 1,755.18 crore in same quarter of previous fiscal.

"For the year, the company generated positive cashflow from operations of Rs 626 crore as against a cash outflow from operations of Rs 621 crore in the previous year. Further, in the quarter ended March, 2020, the company had raised Rs 350 crore through rights issue, the proceeds of which were used primarily for repayment of debts. This has helped turnaround the balance sheet with reduced debt and improved Debt to Equity ratio from 1.5 (as on 31st March, 2019) to 0.7 (as on 31st March, 2020," Bajaj Electricals said in a regulatory filing.

For financial year 2019-20, Consumer Products segment of Bajaj Electricals earned total revenue of Rs 3,095 crore as against Rs 2,747 crore, a growth of 12.7 per cent over the previous year. EPC segment raked in total revenue of Rs 1,892 crore, as opposed to Rs 3,932 crore, registering a decline of 51.9 per cent over the previous year.

"Despite the impact of COVID-19, our Consumer Products segment has maintained its revenues and delivered an EBIT growth of 37.4 per cent in the current quarter, while the EPC segment revenue has registered a planned de-growth due to selective bidding for fresh contracts. In the near term this will continue to impact profitability, but we remain confident about a healthy bounce back as our strategic shift plays out," said Shekhar Bajaj, Chairman and Managing Director of Bajaj Electricals.

On impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bajaj Electricals said that the crisis led to closure of operations from March till May. After government allowed certain activities to resume, the company restarted operations at its Chakan and Ranjangaon facilities.