Dealer inventory levels continue to be high due to poor demand since Diwali, says Bosch MD

Bosch posted a weak set of Q3FY19 earnings, with a big miss on the margin front. Revenue has also come in significantly below estimates this time around. Soumitra Bhattacharya, MD of Bosch spoke about the poor results and gave his outlook for the future. He said that the demand was muted in automotive segment from Diwali until January.

He further added that a sharp fall in sales was seen in passenger vehicle segment. However, growth was seen in certain segments like tractors and heavy commercial vehicles (HCVs).

On the growth front, he said, “We see that there is a filled up pipeline both at the dealers as well as at the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs); it of course differs from OEM to OEM but relative to the past, there is some inventory.”

Talking about demand trends, Bhattacharya said, “We have had a good run in FY18-19 and were near double-digit growth for the year and expect the same in FY19-20 as well.”