Eveready Industries India, a leader of dry cell batteries,  announced a steady growth in standalone net profit for the quarter ended December 2015. During the quarter, the profit of the company rose 10.57% to Rs 169.51 million from Rs 153.31 million in the same quarter last year.

Revenues for the quarter declined marginally 0.39% to Rs 3,241.35 million, compared with Rs 3,254.17 million for the prior year period mainly due to the overall muted consumer demand particularly in the rural segment.

The company said, 'The battery market, in particular was disturbed by poor quality dumped imports from China. The organized segment of the flashlights category experienced de-growth on account of proliferation of cheap flashlights of poor quality by the unorganized & gray market players.'

'However, these were somewhat compensated by a robust growth of 44% in the lighting products, contributed significantly by turnover of LED bulbs,' it added.

Operating margin for the quarter stood at 9.08 percent as compared to 8.30 percent for the previous year period. Operating Income for the quarter was Rs 294.42 million, compared with Rs 270.177 million in the previous year period.

Commenting on the outlook, the company said, 'Battery sales may improve significantly if regulatory support is received against dumping of batteries in the country. Improvement measures for flashlights, while initiated, may take a while to gain root. The segment of lighting products, particularly LED bulbs, is expected to be a major contributor of growth in the coming quarters.'

Earnings per share for the quarter stood at Rs 2.33, registering 10.43% growth over previous year period.

Shares of the company declined Rs 11.75, or 4.45%, to settle at Rs 252.45. The total volume of shares traded was 111,103 at the BSE (Monday).