Bajaj Auto Q4 net up 20 pc at Rs 1,408 cr

Riding on good domestic motorcycle sales, Bajaj Auto Friday reported 19.82 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 1,408.49 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2019.

The company posted a profit of Rs 1,175.47 crore in the year-ago period, Bajaj Auto said in a regulatory filing.

Total revenue from operations for the period under review stood at Rs 7,395.19 crore as against Rs 6,788.43 crore in the year-ago quarter, it said.

In the fourth quarter, the company's total sales were up 14 per cent at 11,93,590 units as against 10,45,378 units in the same period previous year, it said.

Commenting on the performance, Bajaj Auto Executive Director Rakesh Sharma said in a conference call that the motorcycle segment, particularly in the domestic market, has done well even as the company faced headwinds in the commercial vehicles three-wheeler segment.

During the quarter, the company clocked 23 per cent rise in domestic bike sales at 6,10,094 units as against 4,97,587 units in the year-ago period.

He said Bajaj Auto did well in the entry-level and top-end premium sports segment.

Motorcycle exports during the quarter stood at 3,91,889 units as against 3,58,802 units in the year-ago period.

Commercial vehicle sales were down 16 per cent at 1,02,258 units as against 1,22,229 units in the fourth quarter previous fiscal.

For the year ended March 31, 2019, the company's profit was at Rs 4,927.61 crore as against Rs 4,218.95 crore in the previous year, a growth of 16.79 per cent.

Total revenue from operations for the year was at Rs 30,249.96 crore as against Rs 25,617.27 crore in the previous fiscal, it added.

Total sales in 2018-19 stood at 50,19,503 units as against 40,06,791 units in 2017-18, up 25 per cent, it added.

Domestic motorcycle sales for the last fiscal stood at 25,41,320 units as compared to 19,74,577 units in 2017-18, a growth of 29 per cent.

Commenting on new product launches, Sharma said in the next three to four months Bajaj Auto will bring upgrades of some of its existing models.

Besides, he said the company is working on electric options for all the formats of vehicles that it has in its portfolio -- two and three-wheelers along with quadricycle.

"We will this year certainly test the waters to see how the market and consumers respond to electric vehicles," he said.

On preparedness for transition to BS-VI compliant vehicles, he said Bajaj Auto is on track and the company expects all of its existing models to meet the deadline.

The company's board has recommended a dividend of Rs 60 per equity share (600 per cent) subject to approval of shareholders, it said.

Shares of Bajaj Auto ended the day at Rs 3,041.80 apiece, up 3.30 per cent from the previous close on BSE.