Bajaj Auto on Wednesday reported a standalone net profit of Rs 1,491 crore for the third quarter of the fiscal year. This is a rise of 23 per cent compared to Rs 1,214 crore a year ago. According to the company filings with the exchange, revenue from operations came in at Rs 9,315 crore, increasing 3 per cent from Rs 9,022 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.
Bajaj Auto said that this revenue growth was due to robust double-digit growth in the domestic business which offset the drop in exports arising from the challenging market context. Overall spares revenue came in at an all-time high.
At Rs 1,777 crore, EBITDA was the highest ever, surpassing the record set in the previous quarter. The strong growth of 29 percent year on year (YoY), underpinned by margin expansion of 390 basis points YoY to 19.1 per cent. The margin improvement was led by judicious pricing, better dollar realisation, and a richer product mix, the company said.
Domestic motorcycle industry demand was high throughout the holiday season, especially in the top-end commuter/sports segment, according to the company, which outperformed with rapid segment growth.
The company said that the domestic business saw sustained double-digit revenue growth across both two-wheelers and three-wheelers. The two-wheelers performance was buoyed particularly by solid 125 cc+ festive season sales while three-wheelers volumes surged, leading to its record-high market share.
According to Bajaj Auto, macroeconomic difficulties continue to restrain industry volumes worldwide.
"While the company continues to navigate this situation through decisive actions, market share remains stable and the resilient performance in ASEAN is alleviating in part, the drop in volumes across other regions," it said.
As the quarter saw significant growth with stepped-up volumes and market share at an all-time high across segments, commercial vehicles maintained their path of recovery to pre-Covid levels, now at -75 per cent.