India's Voltas reports second-quarter profit below estimates on higher costs

BENGALURU (Reuters) - India's Voltas reported a second-quarter profit on Thursday that missed analysts' estimates as the maker of air conditioners and other cooling products grappled with higher raw material costs.

Consolidated net profit came in at 366.8 million Indian rupees ($4.41 million) for the three months ended Sept. 30, compared with a loss of 74.1 million rupees a year earlier.

Analysts had expected a profit of 984.3 million rupees, according to LSEG data.

Voltas' expenses jumped 33.4% to 22.46 billion rupees following a nearly 60% rise in input costs and an 11.3% increase in employee costs.

The company's revenue rose nearly 30% to 22.93 billion rupees, beating estimates of 21.03 billion rupees.

Voltas also approved a proposal to raise funds via issuance of non-convertible debentures on a private placement basis worth 5 billion rupees. The funds would be used for the company's new manufacturing plants at Chennai and the state of Gujarat.

($1 = 83.1454 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Navamya Ganesh Acharya in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)