Rahul Bajaj resigns as chairman of Bajaj Auto; Niraj Bajaj to take over

Rahul Bajaj has been named as chairman emeritus of the company for five years with effect from May 1

Rahul Bajaj resigned as chairman of Bajaj Auto, the two- and three-wheeler company said on Thursday. Niraj Bajaj has been appointed as the chairman of the company with effect from May 1. 

Rahul Bajaj has been named as the company's chairman emeritus for five years with effect from May 1. 

"Rahul Bajaj, having been at the helm of the company since 1972 and the Group for five decades, considering his age, has tendered his resignation as non-executive director and chairman of the company with effect from close of business hours on 30 April 2021. The board has approved his appointment as chairman emeritus of the company for a term of five years with effect from 1 May 2021," said Bajaj Auto while announcing its fourth quarter results. 

Bajaj Auto is the world's third largest manufacturer of motorcycles and the largest manufacturer of three wheelers. It has its manufacturing facilities located at Chakan near Pune, Waluj near Aurangabad, and at Pantnagar in Uttarakhand.

Bajaj Auto on Thursday reported a 15 per cent rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,551 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2021 on the back of robust sales across domestic and international markets.

The Pune-based company had posted a net profit of Rs 1,354 crore in the January-March quarter of 2019-20.

Total revenue from operations rose 26 per cent to Rs 8,596 crore in the fourth quarter, from Rs 6,816 crore in the same period of FY20, Bajaj Auto said in a regulatory filing.

During the period under review, the company sold a total of 11,69,664 two-wheelers and commercial vehicles, up 18 per cent compared to 9,91,961 units in the January-March quarter of the preceding fiscal, it added.

For the entire 2020-21, the company posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 4,857 crore, down 7 per cent compared to Rs 5,212 crore in 2019-20.

The company's total revenue from operations declined to Rs 27,741.08 crore in the last fiscal as against Rs 29,918.65 crore in 2019-20.

Bajaj said it has sold a total of 39,72,914 units in FY21 as compared with 46,15,212 units in FY20, a drop of 14 per cent.

The company noted that the full-year numbers were not comparable as the first quarter of FY21 was an absolute washout due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The two-wheeler maker said its board has also approved a dividend of Rs 140 per equity share (1,400 per cent) subject to the approval of shareholders.

Total payout towards dividend would amount to Rs 4,051 crore, it added.

Bajaj noted that as of March 31, 2021, its surplus cash and cash equivalents stood at Rs 17,689 crore as against Rs 14,322 crore on March 31, 2020.