Mumbai, June 1 (IANS): Electrical appliances major V-Guard on Monday reported a 47.49 per cent drop in its consolidated net profit for the January-March quarter of financial year 2019-20 at Rs 32.23 crore.

During the corresponding period of FY 2018-19, the company had reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 61.38 crore.

The total income of the company during the period under review fell by 27.55 per cent to Rs 546.16 crore, the company said in a regulatory filing.

The operations of the company were impacted by the coronavirus pandemic in March which also has impacted the quarterly earnings.

In a separate filing, V-Guard said that the Covid-19 pandemic and the country-wide lockdown has had a collateral impact on the company's business. All facilities of the company were closed between March 24 and May 4 as the company's products are classified as non-essential and the company had near zero revenues during this period, it said.

For FY 2019-20, however, the company logged a 12 per cent jump in its consolidated net profit at Rs 188.25 crore.

Mithun K. Chittilappilly, Managing Director, V-Guard Industries Ltd, said: "FY20 has been a very challenging year. The macroeconomic slowdown during the first nine months presented a significant challenge, and this was compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic in Q4. We expect the effect of the pandemic to last for a few months, during which consumer demand for discretionary items will remain subdued."

He, however, noted that the fundamentals of the business remain strong and the company has significantly improved its gross margins and continues to invest in innovation and business capabilities to achieve its long-term ambitions.

"We see the current challenges to be a temporary phenomenon and our balance sheet is strong enough to withstand these headwinds. We are confident that the business will bounce back strongly in the months to come," Chittilappilly added.