Eveready Industries has reported 39.36 per cent decline in standalone net profit at Rs 13.56 crore for the first quarter ended June 30 against Rs 22.36 crore in the same quarter previous fiscal.

The company said in a BSE filing today that revenue from operations during the period under review stood at Rs 357.66 crore against Rs 371.79 crore in the same period last fiscal, down 3.8 per cent.

The poor performance was due to market conditions being hit in the run-up to the implementation of GST, particularly due to a general trend of de-stocking by trade channels, the company said.

The impact was felt most prominently in the battery segment, which the company has more than 50 per cent market share, it added.

De-stocking by trade channels translated to “a severe 10 per cent drop in volumes”, Eveready Industries said.

On the outlook, the company said post GST transition there is a pick-up in demand.

“Once all apprehensions relating to the new tax regime is put to rest, demand is expected to return to normalcy by second quarter,” it said.

Shares of Eveready Industries were trading at Rs 305.10 apiece in the afternoon trade, up 0.69 per cent from the previous close on the BSE.