Bajaj Auto Q3 net up 19% to Rs 795 cr

Riding on good sales of bike models like Pulsar and Discover, Bajaj Auto today posted 19.19% rise in net profit to Rs 795.19 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2011, as compared with the same period of the previous fiscal.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 667.11 crore for the same period last financial year, Bajaj Auto said.

Net sales of the company rose to Rs 4,839.95 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2011, from Rs 3,980.15 crore in the same period of the previous financial year.

"While there has been all round growth across different segments, we have witnessed good sales of our models Pulsar and Discover," Bajaj Auto Senior Vice-President S Ravikumar (Business Development and Assurance) said.

The Pulsar has been clocking about 85,000 units a month and the Discover over a lakh units per month, he added.

During the period under review, the company sold a total of 10,75,441 units of two and three-wheelers as against 9,46,850 in the year-ago period, up 14%.

Motorcycle sales in Q3 were at 9,46,749 units as compared with 8,38,487 units in the same quarter last fiscal.

He said a bit of a slowdown was witnessed in December after the end of festive season and the firm is observing how the last quarter of the ongoing fiscal would pan out.

"Overall for the fiscal, we think we should be able to have sales volume growth of 16-17% and get to the 4.4 million units mark of vehicles sold," Ravikumar said.

In the nine months period ended December 31, 2011 the company has sold a total of 3.33 million units.

Total exports during the third quarter grew by 28% to 3,80,912 units from 2,96,644 units in the same period last fiscal.

In value terms, Bajaj Auto gained significantly due to rupee depreciation during the quarter, Ravikumar said.

Export revenue for the quarter stood at Rs 1,710 crore, up 51% from Rs 1,132 crore posted in the same period last fiscal.

During the third quarter of the ongoing fiscal, the company's revenues from the automotive segment stood at Rs 5,063.16 crore as against Rs 4,177.08 crore in the same period last fiscal.

Asked about the future product launches, he said Bajaj Auto will launch the 200 cc sports bike Duke, jointly developed with Austrian bikemaker KTM before the end of this month.

"Also, the RE60 [mini four-wheeler] which we showcased at the Auto Expo will hit the market before the end of the calendar year," he said.

Shares of Bajaj Auto were trading at Rs 1,465 on the BSE, up 0.71% from their previous close.