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New Plant Boosts Eveready's Alkaline Battery Focus
Eveready Industries has opened its new alkaline battery manufacturing plant in Jammu. The ₹200 crore facility, which can produce up to 360 million batteries annually, makes Eveready the only domestic maker of alkaline batteries. This expansion is driven by growing demand for batteries in high-drain devices, a trend changing the Indian battery market. The total dry cell market grows about 2-3% yearly, but the alkaline segment is expanding over 20%. Eveready plans to use this growth to increase its alkaline battery market share from 16% to 25% in three years.
Making alkaline batteries in India will help Eveready reduce its reliance on imported finished products. Only some raw materials will still be imported. This local production is expected to boost margins for this segment by about 10%. Eveready's focus on alkaline batteries is already showing results, with sales jumping 65.3% in FY25, raising its volume market share in this area to 14.8%.
Market Shifts and Rising Costs Challenge Eveready
The Indian battery market is changing as consumers move from older carbon-zinc batteries to more efficient alkaline types. This shift is fueled by more high-drain devices such as wireless controllers and digital cameras. Eveready CEO Anirban Banerjee expects the market's mix of carbon-zinc to alkaline batteries to change from 85-15 to 80-20 in the next two to three years. This clear consumer trend supports Eveready's new investment.
However, Eveready also faces rising costs for raw materials. Global supply issues, partly due to West Asia tensions, affect key materials like lithium, nickel, cobalt, and sulphur. To manage these increased expenses, Eveready has raised prices on its carbon-zinc batteries, a common move in the industry. Despite these pressures, Eveready's profit after tax (PAT) rose significantly by 231% to ₹66.7 crore in FY24, showing better operational performance. For FY25, the company reported a PAT of ₹82.38 crore.
Competition and Policy Support for Battery Sector
Eveready competes with brands like Duracell, Indo National (Nippo), and Panasonic Energy India. While Duracell has led the alkaline market, Eveready's new plant and focus on its premium Ultima range aim to change this. The Indian alkaline battery market is expected to grow from $0.92 billion in 2025 to $1.31 billion by 2031. Primary cells currently make up over 83% of this market. Government efforts like the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for battery manufacturing aim to boost local production and cut imports. Although this scheme has seen implementation delays, Eveready's investment supports these national goals and could benefit from future policies. New incentives for lithium and nickel processing are also planned from April 2026.
Risks and Challenges Ahead for Eveready
However, Eveready faces several risks. Intense competition, including potential price wars and the risk of products becoming commodities, could hurt profit margins. There's also the challenge of fully operating the new Jammu plant and achieving its market share targets. While Eveready will import fewer finished batteries, it still depends on imported raw materials, making it vulnerable to supply chain issues and currency swings, especially with West Asia tensions. Analyst price targets for the stock vary widely, from ₹329 to ₹447, showing mixed investor views. The company's past connection to the Bhopal gas tragedy is also a part of its history.
Eveready's Growth Prospects
Eveready's move into domestic alkaline battery production is aimed at capturing a fast-growing, more profitable market segment. The company's stock rose 8.29% to ₹342.10 on April 22, 2026, suggesting initial investor confidence. Analyst views are mixed, with some recommending 'BUY' around ₹306-₹310 and others forecasting higher values. Eveready's stock has gained 8.25% in the last two weeks. Success will depend on managing raw material price swings, scaling up the new plant, and gaining market share. The company's PAT for FY25 was ₹82.38 crore, up from ₹66.7 crore in FY24. Analysts currently expect revenue to grow around 10% annually for the next three years.