Ashok Leyland back in black; posts Rs 32 cr profit in Q3

Hinduja group flagship Ashok Leyland today posted a net profit of Rs 32.09 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, primarily on account of buying ahead of the excise duty hike.
The company had posted a net loss of Rs 167.21 crore for the same period of previous fiscal.
Net sales of the company rose to Rs 3,290.62 crore for the third quarter of 2014-15, as compared to Rs 1,903.28 crore for the same period of the previous fiscal, Ashok Leyland Ltd said in a filing to the BSE.
Ashok Leyland Managing Director Vinod K Dasari said a stable and optimistic business environment, improvement in profitability of fleet owners, pre-buying ahead of the excise duty hike contributed to the increase in sales in the last quarter.

"This marks a significant turnaround for the company," he added.
Elaborating further, he said: "We believe this growth momentum will continue and we should close this fiscal on a good note. Total industry volume has grown 10 per cent year-on-year".

"We are today reasonably confident that the domestic market is indeed coming back and that the worst may be behind us," Dasari added.
On the export plans, Dasari said that in addition to the company's orders from Sri Lanka and Africa, it is hopeful of making significant inroads into newer markets, maintaining network expansion and also opening small assembly centers in overseas markets.

The Ashok Leyland scrip closed at Rs 66.05, down 3.15 per cent, on the BSE.