Air conditioning and commercial refrigeration firm Blue Star Ltd on Monday reported a 66 per cent increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 70.77 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, helped by margin expansion and growth. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 42.64 crore a year ago, according to a regulatory filing from Blue Star.
Its revenue from operations during the quarter under review rose 19.47 per cent to Rs 1,890.40 crore. It was Rs 1,582.29 crore in the year-ago period. During the quarter, “margins improved across business segments due to the company’s continued focus on Total Cost Management and stability in commodity prices and exchange rates”, said an earning statement from the company.
Further, Blue Star witnessed healthy order inflow and consequently ended the quarter with a record carried forward order book, it added. Blue Star’s total expenses in the second quarter of FY 2023-24 rose 17.94 per cent to Rs 1,808.37 crore.
Its total income in the September quarter was Rs 1,903.36 crore. Blue Star’s revenue from the electro-mechanical projects and commercial air conditioning systems segment surged 12.06 per cent to Rs 1,077.21 crore during the quarter.
“The company witnessed renewed demand for its room air conditioners after the summer season, which was impacted due to unseasonal rains. At the same time, the corporate and commercial businesses continued to grow at a healthy pace,” it said. Its revenue from ‘Unitary product’ grew 38 per cent to Rs 729.49 crore in the September quarter.
“The growing investments in segments such as food retail, HORECA, hospitality, dairy, ice cream, processed foods and food delivery on the back of rising consumer demand drove growth in revenue of the Commercial Refrigeration business with significant volume growth across major product categories such as deep freezers, visi coolers, water coolers and cold storages,” it said. However, revenue from ‘Professional electronics and industrial systems’ was down 9.4 per cent to Rs 83.70 crore.
This was “due to a slowdown in the data security business”, said Blue Star. Its Vice Chairman and Managing Director Vir S Advani said despite being a lean quarter, the company performed well in almost all the segments that it operates in and enhanced its profitability due to scale and higher gross margins.
Over the outlook, he said: “With the infusion of Rs 1,000 crore equity from the recently concluded QIP, we intend to accelerate our growth plans and make prudent investments in several developmental areas that will help the company scale further. Given the continued robust demand from the corporate, commercial, and residential segments, I remain optimistic about our prospects in H2”. Shares of Blue Star on Monday settled at Rs 873.60 on BSE, up 1.20 per cent from the previous close.
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