Hero MotoCorp's Q3 net profit down 2.6%

Two-wheeler major Hero MotoCorp on Wednesday reported a decline of 2.67 per cent in its net profit for the third quarter (Q3) of the current fiscal.

According to the company, its net profit during the quarter under review stood at Rs 772.05 crore from Rs 793.23 crore in the same period previous fiscal.

The total income from operations by 11.64 per cent to Rs 6,898.64 crore from Rs 7,807.77 crore during the corresponding quarter of last fiscal.

Hero MotoCorp reported a drop of 12.82 per cent in its sales during Q3 to 14,73,548 units, as against 16,90,354 units off-take in the corresponding quarter of FY '16.

"The third quarter of this fiscal was historic, with the government taking an unprecedented and bold move to bring about digitisation of the economy, higher tax compliance and creating a transparent and inclusive financial system," said Pawan Munjal, Chairman-Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Hero MotoCorp.

"The industry did witness some negative sentiments during the October-December quarter, but with the agility shown by the government in bringing about a slew of measures to aid the citizens at large, the market scenario has now begun improving," Munjal was quoted as saying in a statement.

"Moving forward, the government's policies -- aided by the measures announced in the Union Budget - should help in faster long-term growth in the country. This would help the industry in maintaining its positive outlook and consequently change the face of 'Bharat' - the India beyond our cities."

Munjal added that he was hopeful of the implementation of the GST in the second half of the year. With all these factors coming into play, 2017 may well turn out to be a turning point for the industry as well as the country's economy.

Among other highlights of the quarter, Hero MotoCorp commenced commercial production at its new manufacturing facility at Halol, Gujarat.

"With this, the company now has six manufacturing plants, including five in India -- Dharuhera, Gurgaon, Haridwar, Neemrana and Halol -- and one in Colombia," the statement pointed out.

"Hero MotoCorp's second global manufacturing facility is coming up in Bangladesh and will be operational later this year."

--IANS

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