Net profit at the Pune-based company rose 3% to Rs 2,109 crore while revenue from operations increased 6% to Rs12,807 crore over the corresponding period last year. A Bloomberg poll of brokerages had projected a net profit of Rs2,167 crore on revenue of Rs 13,081 crore.
A 22% jump in volumes in the export markets helped offset the decline in India. Strong exports and a favourable dollar-rupee realisation helped the manufacturer of Discover motorcycles return a 20%-plus Ebitda margin.
Bajaj Auto’s domestic volumes including three-wheelers and motorcycles dropped 9% to 7,78,281 units during the quarter ended December 31 from a year earlier, while exports rose 22% to the highest in nine quarters at 517,367 units.
“Despite the retail volume growth and maintaining of market share in the strategically important 125cc+ segment, the overall performance for the quarter was impacted due to a conscious decision of not participating in the deep price discounting,” the company said in a statement.
“Beyond the regular numbers, I would like to highlight certain milestones during the quarter,” executive director Rakesh Sharma said on a post earnings media call. After a gap of eight to nine quarters, Bajaj topped half-a-million units in exports in a quarter. This was despite all the de-stocking undertaken by the company. Bajaj also saw a big swing in the market share in electric vehicles, said Sharma.A step up across Africa, Asia and Latin America more than offset a significant drop in KTM exports; LATAM continued on its strong growth trajectory as it reported yet another record quarter for the company, while Africa contributed to growth with volumes in Nigeria recovering, Bajaj Auto said.Sharma said Bajaj Auto is closely monitoring the events at KTM AG — the Austrian company in which Bajaj has 40% stake is going through insolvency proceedings.
EVs now account for 22% of the company’s revenue. The company’s market share went up by 13 percentage points for electric three-wheelers and 10 percentage points to 25% for e-two wheelers. Also, for the fifth consecutive quarter, the company returned an Ebitda margin of 20% plus, he noted.
Bajaj Auto’s shares closed at Rs8,392.55, up 0.15%, on the BSE. The results were reported after markets closed.
