Exide Industries Ltd reported a strong performance in the fourth quarter of FY26, with standalone revenue rising 9.4% year-on-year to Rs 4,551 crore, supported by growth across automotive, replacement, infrastructure, inverter and solar businesses.

The battery maker’s profit before tax before exceptional items grew 22.6% to Rs 420 crore in Q4FY26,and profit after tax rose to Rs 312 crore from Rs 255 crore in the year-ago period.

The company said GST 2.0 reforms continued to support demand in the automotive sector by improving affordability and sentiment. “Q4 FY26 built on the gains observed in Q3 — GST rationalization continued to boost end-customer demand across the automotive sector, supported by strong replacement market and energy storage demand,” said Avik Roy, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Exide Industries.

The company said all its automotive industry businesses across two-wheelers, three-wheelers and four-wheelers grew in double digits year-on-year. The auto OEM business grew over 25% during the quarter, making it the fastest-growing business for Exide and helping it achieve its highest-ever quarterly revenue in the segment. Inverters and solar businesses grew in the mid-to-high teens, helped by peak season demand in the second half of Q4.

Exide’s industrial infrastructure business, excluding telecom, also maintained double-digit growth, supported by strong order inflow and execution in railways, traction and industrial UPS segments. However, the telecom business declined nearly 50% year-on-year as demand remained affected by the industry’s transition towards lithium-ion solutions.

Meanwhile, despite raw material pressure, Exide improved its EBITDA margin by nearly 50 basis points year-on-year to 11.7% in Q4FY26. EBITDA stood at Rs 530 crore, compared with Rs 467 crore in Q4FY25.

However, the company said the second half of Q4 was severely affected by the West Asia conflict, which pushed up costs of several commodities and added pressure through rupee depreciation.

“Macroeconomic conditions in India remained favourable with low inflation, lower Repo rates and positive rural and urban sentiment. However, the West Asia conflict created challenges on two fronts: firstly, the rate escalation and timely availability of LPG, Plastics and Sulphuric Acid; secondly, freight cost escalation due to closure of multiple shipping routes and unavailability of containers. Sustained depreciation of the rupee vs the USD put further pressure on our input costs,” Roy said.

Exports remained weak during the quarter. Exide said its export business saw a double-digit decline due to geopolitical conflicts, closure of multiple shipping routes and container availability issues towards the end of Q4.

“In this environment, the company's priority has been on managing profitable growth and focusing on preserving cash. The company continued to deliver stable performance along with maintaining a strong balance sheet and positive cash flow generation,” Roy said.

For the full financial year FY26, Exide’s standalone revenue rose to ₹Rs 17,269 crore from Rs 16,588 crore in FY25. EBITDA stood at Rs 1,943 crore, compared with Rs 1,893 crore a year earlier. Its PAT rose to Rs 1,111 crore from Rs 1,077 crore.

The company said liquidity remained robust, with zero debt and high cash flow generation.

Looking ahead, Exide expects growth momentum to continue in key segments. “We expect the auto replacement, inverters and auto OEM businesses to continue their strong growth momentum into Q1 of the current financial year,” Roy said.