Havells India's Q1 profit rises on steady demand in cables business

BENGALURU, July 20 (Reuters) - Home appliances company Havells India (HVEL.NS) posted an 18.5% rise in first-quarter profit buoyed by sustained demand for its wires and cables due to steady infrastructure spending, sending shares 2.5% higher on Thursday.

Analysts expected the wires and cables segment to grow in the quarter due to rising infrastructure spending by the federal government and healthy demand from the real estate sector.

The Noida-based companys pre-tax profit for the quarter ended June 30 from its mainstay cables segment nearly doubled to 1.69 billion rupees ($20.6 million), the company said.

Known for its home appliances label Lloyd and electrical switches brand Crabtree, Havells said revenue from operations also grew 14% at 48.24 billion rupees.

However, its air-conditioner and fans brand Lloyd Consumer continued to struggle as unseasonal rains impacted demand for summer-centric products.

The segment posted a wider loss of 607.8 million rupees for the quarter compared with a loss of 558.7 million rupees a year earlier.

The companys overall profit for the quarter rose to 2.87 billion rupees from 2.42 billion rupees a year earlier, but missed analyst expectations of 3.50 billion rupees, as per Refinitiv data.

Consumer demand has been muted and unseasonal weather has impacted the business-to-consumer businesses, said Chairman and Managing Director Anil Rai Gupta said in a statement.

Earlier this week, rival Polycab India (POLC.NS) posted an 82% surge in quarterly profit helped by higher sales in its mainstay wires and cables business.

($1 = 82.0518 Indian rupees)