Kolkata, April 30 (IANS) Exide Industries, the biggest storage battery producing company in India, Monday reported 12.9 percent slide in its net profit in the quarter ended March 31, 2012 to Rs.1.42 billion (over $26 million) from Rs.1.63 billion during the same period an year ago.

Net sales for the Kolkata-based company during the period under review, however, increased by 18.2 percent from the same period previous year to Rs.14.46 billion, the company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange.
In the fourth quarter, the company’s raw material costs increased by 11.7 percent from the same period in FY11 to Rs.9.92 billion.
“During the quarter under review, the company acquired inverter manufacturing facilities to secure synergistic benefits with our inverter batteries so as to offer a complete solution to the problem of power cuts,” Exide Industries said.