Hero MotoCorp gains 4% on May auto sales numbers

However, on a year-on-year basis, the sales for the reporting month has declined by 7.7 per cent from 706,365 units in May 2018

Shares of Hero MotoCorp (HMCL) rose 4 per cent to Rs 2,790 on the BSE on Monday in early morning trade after the company reported a 13.5 per cent rise in sales to 652,028 units in May over the previous month. The company had sold 574,366 units in April 2019, it said in a BSE filing.

At 09:59 am, HMCL was the largest gainer among the constituents of S&P BSE Sensex, which up 0.38 per cent at 39,865 points.

However, on year-on-year basis, the sales for the reporting month, has declined by 7.7 per cent from 706,365 units in May 2018.

The country's largest two-wheeler maker said it had surpassed the six lakh units-mark in monthly sales for the first time since February 2019 when it had sold 617,215 units of motorcycles and scooters.

Last month, HMCL launched three new motorcycles -- XPulse 200, XPulse 200T and Xtreme 200S. Apart from these, it had also launched two scooters -- Maestro Edge 125 and Pleasure+ 110.

"The bookings for most of these new products have already commenced at Hero MotoCorp dealerships across the country," the statement said.

The management remains optimistic about long-term two-wheeler demand scenario and expects HMCL to be the key beneficiary of the same. The management has six focus areas for HMCL to accelerate growth – continuously growing in Entry/Deluxe segments, building on premium motorcycle portfolio, increasing its scooter market share, scaling up international business, nurturing emerging segments like EVs and leading sustainably.

Analysts at Prabhudas Lilladher expect near-term growth challenges, however, normal monsoons and pre-buying ahead of BS VI are expected to boost demand from festival season.