Ashok Leyland back in the black with Rs 6 crore net profit in Q3

The firm has posted a loss of Rs 19 crore during October to December period of the previous financial year

Ashok Leyland, the flagship company of the Hinduja Group, has posted a net profit of Rs 6 crore during the third quarter of the current financial year as compared to a loss of Rs 19 crore during October to December period of the previous financial year.

The revenues for the quarter under review stood at Rs 5,535 crore as against Rs 4,814 crore in the third quarter of FY21. “The CV industry is on a recovery owing to the improvement in the macroeconomic environment and healthy demand from the end-user industries. The MHCV segment is expected to lead the recovery in the coming months riding on the back of growth in core sectors such as construction and mining, increased capital outlay for infrastructure projects, conducive financing environment and pent up replacement demand," said Dheeraj Hinduja, Executive Chairman, Ashok Leyland.

Ashok Leyland’s domestic medium and heavy commercial vehicle (MHCV) volume at 16,667 units grew by 15 per cent over the same period last year (14,468). The company’s domestic light commercial vehicles (LCV) volumes for Q3FY22 was at 14,233 units ass against 15,991 during the same quarter last fiscal,  constrained by semi-conductor shortage. Export volumes (MHCV & LCV) for Q3FY22 at 3,177 units was higher than Q3FY21 by 8 per cent (2,941).

During the quarter the company generated cash of Rs 415 crore which brought down the net debt as of December 31 to Rs 2,697 crore. Debt equity as of the end of the quarter was 0.42 times.

In Q3 FY22, Ashok Leyland MHCV domestic truck and bus volumes have grown at almost twice that of the industry at 39 per cent compared to the TIV growth of 20 per cent. Consequently, Ashok Leyland’s MHCV market share has improved sequentially by 3.6 per cent in Q3 (from 22.5 per cent in Q2 to 26.1 per cent in Q3).

To address the growing demand for ICV CNG vehicles, Ashok Leyland has recently introduced the first of the trucks from the CNG stable – the Ecomet STAR- based on the highly successful Ecomet platform. The company plans to launch further vehicles in Q4 of the current year under the CNG range which will further strengthen Ashok Leyland’s presence in this segment. During the quarter the company launched trucks in the Multi-Axle and Tipper ranges which have been well received by customers.

Gopal Mahadevan, Director and chief financial officer, Ashok Leyland, added, “The higher volumes and our cost management initiatives have helped us improve our bottom line. We have generated close to Rs 300 crore in cash this quarter owing to improved working capital, and we will continue to focus on driving operational efficiency.”