Eveready relaunches Ultima brand to push premiumisation

Eveready Industries has relaunched its 'Ultima' brand in a new avatar to tap the dry cell battery market, a growing premium segment.

Company managing director Suvamoy Saha said the company expects a double digit growth in the second half of the current fiscal driven by good monsoon.

Emphasising on the company's focus on the dry cell battery segment, he said, "Our volume from the premium segment is currently just 4-5 per cent, but we expect it to double in the next 3-4 years."

He attributed the growth to the increasing demand for high performance batteries driven by the penetration of new devices. The premium battery segment, which currently accounts for only six per cent of the total battery market, is rapidly expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 25 per cent.

The total battery market is estimated to be approximately Rs 3000 crore and Eveready commands 53 per cent market share. The premium segment presents a significant growth opportunity, the company said.

Anirban Banerjee, the senior vice-president of Eveready said the company aims to reposition and drive premiumisation under its 'Ultima' sub-brand, which high lights its commitment to offering high quality batteries. The future product launches in the premium segment will be under the 'Ultima' brand, he said.

Saha said that while the battery industry is growing at a modest rate of three to five per cent per year Eveready is expected to achieve high single-digit growth in the current fiscal year.

The company anticipates a 250-300 basis point margin improvement in the current fiscal year due partly to the easing of raw material costs, he said.

Saha said despite the external challenges related to demand and internal efforts to optimize the distribution system's efficiency, Eveready remains optimistic about its future growth.

"We project growth at 13-14 per cent in the second half due to a better business environment, resulting in high single-digit overall growth," he said. Last year, Eveready achieved a commendable growth rate of approximately 14 per cent, Saha added.

In the first quarter ending June 2023, Eveready Industries reported a revenue of Rs 363.57 crore. During the same period, it posted a net profit of Rs 24 crore, surpassing the corresponding period's net profit of Rs 21 crore in FY'22.

Eveready unveiled a new campaign 'Khelenge to Sikhenge,' introducing their improved Ultimate Alkaline battery range to mark the relaunch.

The Ultima range boasts of batteries that are 400 per cent more powerful than the current zinc batteries. The Ultima Pro variant offers a remarkable 800 per cent increase in power, the company said.

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