Blue Star posts Rs 12.9 crore net profit for June quarter 

NEW DELHI: Air conditioning and commercial refrigeration maker Blue Star on Wednesday reported a net profit of Rs 12.88 crore for the first quarter ended June 2021.

The company had posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 19.95 crore in the April-June quarter a year ago, Blue Star said in a regulatory filing. Its revenue from operations during April-June 2021 stood at Rs 1,052.04 crore, a rise of 8.05 per cent as compared with Rs 626.02 crore in the year-ago period, the company said.

Blue Star's total expenses stood at Rs 1,040.59 crore, up 56.69 per cent as against Rs 664.10 crore a year ago. The quarter commenced amid a pick-up in business activities and an improvement in general sentiments witnessed in the second half of the last financial year, said Blue Star in a post-earning statement.

"However, the growth momentum was interrupted by the resurgence of the second wave of COVID-19 in the middle of April and the consequent lockdown-like restrictions imposed in various states.

"This impacted revenue for the unitary products segment during its peak selling season and also disrupted operations at project sites, for the second year in a row," it said. The impact was relatively lower compared to last year due to the staggered nature of the lockdown-like restrictions and the agility in response by the company.

"This enabled the company to end the quarter with a healthy growth in revenue and better profitability for Q1FY22 compared to Q1FY21," it said.

On the outlook, Blue Star Vice-Chairman and Managing Director Vir S Advani said that with the capital investment cycle playing out in a significant manner, the demand for our products and services is expected to be robust.

"Consumer spending has resumed and we expect to witness healthy growth in demand. We will continue to focus on controlling operating costs and improving working capital efficiencies and operating cash flows.

"With the vaccination drive expected to pick up momentum, the impact of the third (COVID-19) wave, if any, should be also minimal. Therefore, we believe the prospects for the ensuing quarters are good," he said.

Shares of Blue Star Ltd on Wednesday were trading at Rs 836.90 on the BSE post afternoon, down 0.27 per cent from its previous close.