Bajaj Q2 Net down 29%;hit by one-time charge on Pantnagar unit

Bajaj Auto today reported a 29.41 per cent decline in net profit at Rs 590.9 crore for the three months ended September, hit by a one-time expense of Rs 340.29 crore related to Pantnagar plant in Uttarakhand.
The company had posted a net profit of Rs 837.16 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.
Net sales during the period under review rose to Rs 5,826.85 crore as against Rs 5,061.49 crore in the year-ago quarter, the company said in a statement.
The company said it had filed a writ petition before the Honourable High Court of Uttarakhand, in October 2011, claiming benefit of exemption from payment of National Calamity Contingent Duty (NCCD).

On October 9, 2014, the Honourable High Court ruled otherwise. Accordingly, in this quarter, the company has recognised this liability for the last seven and a half years, it said.
"Accordingly, in this quarter, the company has recognised this liability for the last seven and a half years--April, 1 2007 to September 30, 2014 aggregating to Rs 340.29 crore," the company said.

This is a one-time only charge and going forward, the monthly charge towards NCCD is expected to be around Rs 3 crore per month, it added.
During the second quarter, the company's revenues from exports rose to Rs 2,736 crore as against Rs 2,125 crore in the same period of the previous fiscal.

Unit sales volume during the period rose to 10,55,582 units as against 961,330 units in the same quarter last fiscal.
"In conclusion, the second quarter has been an excellent quarter - the high margin business verticals of the company, namely "Export", "Commercial Vehicle", "Pulsar" and "Auto spare part"; representing nearly 85 per cent of the business have performed extremely well," the company said.
Shares of Bajaj Auto today closed at Rs 2,410.05 per scrip on the BSE, up 2.5 per cent, from their previous close.