Despite a sluggish economy and challenging market conditions, continued gains in its working capital management have reduced Whirlpool of India’s debt by Rs 78 cr and it is now in a cash surplus position.
Arvind Uppal, managing director, Whirlpool of India Ltd said, “We are now a debt free company and wish to thank all our stakeholders – consumers, customers, suppliers and employees - for their continuous support. We will continue to innovate in all spheres of our business to bring in technologically superior products while investing in network expansion and brand building.”
The company also recently forayed into two new segments of home appliances- water purifiers and built-in-kitchen appliances.
The subsidiary of Whirlpool Corporation, world’s No 1 home appliance company, it reported quarterly earnings with an impressive growth of 13.1% in the first quarter (April-June) of financial year (FY) 2009-10. Whirlpool of India has reported an increase in total income to Rs 623 Crore in the last quarter, a jump of Rs 72 cr over the last quarter (April-June 08).
This was led primarily by a strong profitable growth in the refrigeration & washer business and expansion of distribution. The company has recorded an EBIDTA margin of 14.1% in the quarter, 2.9 points up compared to last quarter. The EBIDTA margin in the previous quarter (April - June '08) was 11.2%.
The company has recorded a Net Profit before Tax (PBT) of Rs 71 cr for the quarter, up 56%, a jump of Rs 26 cr over the corresponding period (April – June ’08) where the PBT was Rs 45 cr. The company posted a strong top line performance as sales volumes were up 11% during the quarter over the corresponding period last year. The quarter on quarter growth has been 74%.
The company’s profit after tax (PAT) is up by Rs 1.6 cr to Rs 46.2 cr over the PAT of Rs 44.6 cr in the corresponding period last fiscal (April - June’08). Improvement in PAT has been impacted by change in accounting policy of creating tax provision at the quarter end instead of year end and also due to higher deferred tax provision taken in current quarter.
