Bajaj Auto — India's largest manufacturer of two- and three-wheelers — on Friday reported a net profit of Rs 1,719.4 crore for the July-September period, beating Street estimates, boosted by a record quarterly revenue on the back of price increases, strong volumes and effective cost management.
The profit, however, was down 15.7 percent compared with the corresponding period a year ago.
Its quarterly revenue came in at Rs 10,202.7 crore, an increase of 16.4 percent on a year-on-year basis, according to a regulatory filing.
Analysts in a CNBC-TV18 poll had estimated the Pune-based company's net profit at Rs 1,535 crore and revenue at Rs 10,102 crore.
Its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) — a measure of a company's core profitability — improved 25 percent to Rs 1,749.6 crore. The EBITDA reached the highest level in a quarter, the company said.
Bajaj Auto reported a margin of 17.2 percent, up by 120 basis points compared with the year-ago period. However, the margin — or profit as a percentage of revenue — fell short of analysts estimate of 17.7 percent.
Its domestic volumes nearly doubled sequentially across both two-wheeler and three-wheeler segments, but exports dropped due to a deteriorating macroeconomic environment in the overseas markets.
The jump in volumes is a reflection of Bajaj Auto's balanced and diversified portfolio that enables resilience in performance, it added.
Bajaj Auto also said that improvement in semi-conductor supplies enabled a healthy build-back of its channel inventory ahead of the festive season.
The Pulsar brand continues to deliver a solid performance, it said.
"Chetak maintains its steady expansion as it grows sales volumes, has a robust order book and is made available through an expanded network of dealers across 39 cities," Bajaj Auto added.
Bajaj Auto shares gave up initial gains to settle a percent lower for the day ahead of the earnings announcement.
First Published: Oct 14, 2022 5:04 PM IST
