Hero MotoCorp slips after weak sales in February

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was down 120.95 points, or 0.64%, to 18,797.57.

On BSE, 4,560 shares were traded in the counter as against an average daily volume of 28,945 shares in the past one quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs 1,660 and a low of Rs 1,622.95 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week low of Rs 1,616 on 1 March 2013. The stock had hit a record high of Rs 2,278.50 on 2 May 2012.

The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 1 March 2013, sliding 9.23% compared with the Sensex's 4.36% fall. The scrip had also underperformed the market in past one quarter, falling 9.95% as against Sensex's 2.18% fall.

The large-cap company has an equity capital of Rs 39.94 crore. Face value per share is Rs 2.

Commenting on the monthly sales data, Mr. Anil Dua, Senior Vice-President (Marketing & Sales), Hero MotoCorp, said: "Selling over five lakh units despite the overall sluggishness in the market is an encouraging sign of customer preference and sustained demand for our products in the market. However, overall sentiment in the industry still remains weak. The industry did stage some recovery during the festival period but does not seem to have sustained the momentum. High interest rates, persistent inflation and delayed monsoons have all played their part in building to a rather poor consumer sentiment this fiscal. We, at Hero MotoCorp, have been trying to perk up the market through ground-level activation, communication and new products. In two of the fastest growing segments of scooters and 125cc bikes, thanks to our new launches and new campaigns, we have been consistently growing faster than the industry and gaining market share. Going forward, we are working on further consolidating our market leadership in India. We are also soon going to announce the launch of Brand Hero in our new markets in Latin America and Africa".

Hero MotoCorp's scooters -- Pleasure and Maestro -- clocked close to 54,000 unit sales in February 2013. The company is now scaling up its scooter production to over 60,000 units a month.

Hero MotoCorp's net profit fell 20.41% to Rs 487.89 crore on 2.8% growth in net sales to Rs 6151.31 crore in Q3 December 2012 over Q3 December 2011.

Hero MotoCorp is the world's largest two-wheeler manufacturer in terms of production capacity.

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