Whirlpool Q2 Net rises over two-fold to Rs 40.72 crore

Consumer durables firm Whirlpool of India today reported over two-fold increase in net profit at Rs 40.72 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2014 on volume growth and increased margins in sales of premium products. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 16.54 crore for the same period of previous fiscal.

Net sales stood at Rs 709.14 crore for the quarter under review, up 20.91 per cent from Rs 586.48 crore in the same period last year, Whirlpool said in a filing to the BSE. When contacted, Whirlpool of India Vice-President Corporate Affairs and Strategy Asia South Shantanu Dasgupta said, "The growth in profit has come from three factors -- increase in volume of sales, benefit of pricing and better margins from increased sales of premium products."

The company has witnessed increase in volumes from the April-June quarter after a flat growth in almost six quarters and expect it to continue further, he added. "We would grow between 10-15 per cent (volume) this fiscal," he said. On the outlook of the company, Dasgupta said: "We are mostly selling washing machines and refrigerators. Now we would focus on air-conditioners and microwaves also. We are selling it, but at a very small scale at some places. Now we are planning it to grow on national level."

The company's sales in festive period grew 20 percent. Shares of the company closed up by 4.29 percent at Rs 493.95 on BSE.