Hero MotoCorp Q4 PAT falls 26% to Rs 613 cr, revenue at 6,333.8 cr

The country's largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp on Tuesday reported a 26.46 per cent decline in consolidated profit after tax (PAT) at Rs 613.81 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31.

The company, which had posted a PAT of Rs 776.23 crore in the same quarter a year ago, said it has rationalised capex spends for the current financial year by half.

Revenue from operations during the quarter under review stood at Rs 6,333.89 crore as against Rs 8,120.73 crore in the same quarter a year ago, Hero MotoCorp said in a regulatory filing.

The company said it sold 1,323,000 two-wheeler units during the quarter.

For the fiscal year ended March 31, the company posted a consolidated PAT of Rs 3,641.12 crore as compared with Rs 3,451.37 crore in the previous fiscal, it added.

Revenue from operations in 2019-20 stood at Rs 29,255.32 crore as against Rs 33,972.23 crore in 2018-19.

In FY20, Hero MotoCorp said it clocked sales of 6,398,000 two-wheeler units.

Commenting on the results, Hero MotoCorp Chairman and Managing Director Pawan Munjal said, "The FY'20 was a challenging year for the auto industry globally, and yet we at Hero MotoCorp had some positive takeaways from the year." Be it strengthening presence in the premium motorcycle and scooter segments or swiftly transforming to the BS-VI emission norms, he said, "Our teams ensured that we continue to strengthen the brand core in a sluggish market." "While the Covid-19 pandemic has pushed several timelines, we have successfully navigated through the unprecedented times with business continuity," Munjal said.

As the company now rapidly scales up operations post the lockdown, it will be critical that the industry receives support from all quarter, he added.

"As businesses and governments continue to learn and adapt to this evolving situation, strategic measures are needed to rapidly boost the customer sentiment and bring vitality to the market through focused economic measures," Munjal asserted.

Hero MotoCorp CFO Niranjan Gupta said that as the company marches towards rapid recovery from lockdown, it has taken several measures towards saving cost, improving productivity of spends, and conserving cash.

"We have rationalized capex spends for the financial year by half, doubled target for the Leap-II program (cost cutting), and launched an initiative to improve the productivity of our overheads," he said.

All these initiatives, coupled with new launches and innovative digital solution for sales and marketing, "will help us to tackle the uncertainties caused by the pandemic", Gupta added.

"We will continue to monitor our plans, and stay prepared dynamically to do course correction if and when required," he said.