Eveready Industries India Ltd Q1 FY26 – Batteries Charged, Margins Dim, Burman Switches On the Torch
1. At a Glance
Eveready, India’s iconic red-cap battery brand, has been lighting torches and marriages since 1934. With 65% brand recall, 50% battery market share, and 70% flashlight dominance, it’s literally the Duracell bunny of desi households. But here’s the twist: sales growth in the last 5 years is barely 2%, while profit growth somehow managed a 10% CAGR – which means cost-cutting is doing more heavy lifting than revenue. Current price? ₹418, market cap ₹3,047 Cr, P/E 34x. The Burman family (of Dabur fame) already owns the plug.
2. Introduction
Remember that red-cap Eveready battery in your school torch? The one that always leaked white powder and scared your mom into saying “don’t touch, it’s poison”? That brand is still alive and kicking. In fact, it’s still the largest dry-cell battery maker in India, with capacity for 2.25 billion batteries per year and distribution across 4 million outlets. Basically, you’re more likely to find an Eveready battery in your village kirana shop than bread.
But here’s the joke: in FY18, they sold tea and candy too (packet tea and “Jollies” confectionery). By FY21, those got dumped like your 2009 BlackBerry. Eveready went back to its first love – batteries and flashlights – but found a new competitor: China. Cheap Chinese torches flood the market faster than Instagram reels.
Meanwhile, the Burman family staged a corporate takeover coup. From 2022 onwards, Dabur promoters grabbed the wheel from the Khaitan family, who had left the company in financial ICU thanks to dodgy ₹489 Cr inter-corporate deposits to related parties. Translation: batteries weren’t the only things leaking.
Now, with Dabur promoters in charge, debt is being refinanced, and an ₹180 Cr capex in alkaline batteries is planned for FY26. The big question: can Eveready reboot its 90-year-old brand for the LED and EV era, or will it remain the “torchlight uncle” of FMCG?
Legacy baggage – Tea and confectionery businesses dumped. Because seriously, who buys a lollipop called “Jollies”?
Revenue mix shifted over time – batteries got stronger, appliances and lighting shrank. It’s as if Eveready is saying, “Stick to what keeps the lights on (literally).”
But note: they’re still market leader in flashlights and dry cells. If Bharat still runs on jugaad, Eveready is the default button cell.
Question: When was the last time you actually bought a flashlight? Or do you just use your phone torch like the rest of us?
4. Financials Overview
Source table
Metric
Latest Qtr (Jun’25)
YoY Qtr (Jun’24)
Prev Qtr (Mar’25)
YoY %
QoQ %
Revenue
374
349
299
7.1%
25.1%
EBITDA
54
50
26
8.0%
107.7%
PAT
36
29
10
24.1%
260.0%
EPS (₹)
4.16
4.04
1.43
3.0%
191.6%
Annualised EPS (Jun’25): 4.16 × 4 = ₹16.64. At CMP ₹418 → P/E ≈ 25x. Screener’s trailing shows 34x, because FY25 EPS was only ₹11.5.
Commentary: The Jun’25 quarter looked like a Red Bull injection – PAT tripled QoQ. But is it sustainable, or just a one-off voltage spike?
