Bajaj Auto Q4 Net declines to Rs 763.93 cr; 500 pc dividend

Bajaj Auto Ltd today reported a marginal decline of 0.2 per cent in its standalone net profit for the fourth quarter ended March 31 at Rs 763.93 crore, amid a decline in sales volumes.
Bajaj Auto Ltd (BAL) had posted standalone net profit of Rs 765.77 crore during the same period previous year.
The company's net sales on standalone basis during the quarter under review stood at Rs 4,822.66 crore as against Rs 4,651.05 crore in the same quarter last fiscal, up 3.68 per cent, BAL said in a statement.
Unit volume sales were, however, down by 4.63 per cent during the fourth quarter of 2013-14 to 9,35,782 units as against 9,81,242 units in year-ago period.

Export revenue during the quarter stood at Rs 2,076 crore as against Rs 1,597 crore in the same period previous fiscal, up 29.99 per cent.
The Board of Directors of the company recommended a 500 per cent dividend of Rs 50 per share entailing a total outgo of Rs 1,693 crore.

For the financial year 2013-14, BAL's consolidated net profit increased 7.9 per cent to Rs 3,380.28 crore as against Rs 3,132.69 crore in the previous fiscal.
BAL's consolidated net sales also increased 0.98 per cent to Rs 19,726.28 crore in the financial year 2013-14 as against Rs 19,533.45 crore of 2012-13 fiscal.

However, total unit volume sales in FY 2014 declined 8.66 per cent to 38,70,077. In FY 2013, BAL had sold 42,37,162 units.
The company said FY14 has been a difficult year for the automobile industry with an 'environment of overall high inflation and slow economic growth'.
Export revenue during FY 2014 stood at Rs 8,199 crore, which is 22.13 per cent higher than previous fiscal. It was Rs 6,713 crore in FY 2013. This was the highest export revenue, it added.
BAL's shares closed at Rs 1,953.20 per scrip, down 4.28 per cent from their previous close.