Escorts Q4 net profit up 8% at Rs 121 cr, revenue rises by Rs 1,631 cr

Engineering and farm equipment maker Escorts Tuesday said its net profit rose 7.8 per cent to Rs 121.35 crore for March quarter 2019, aided by robust tractor sales.

The company had reported a net profit of Rs 112.54 crore for the same period of previous fiscal.

Revenue from operations rose to Rs 1,631.66 crore for the period under review as compared with Rs 1,436.10 crore in the fourth quarter of 2017-18, Escorts said in a regulatory filing.

The company's tractor sales for fourth quarter stood at 25,136 units, up 6.7 per cent from the same period of 2017-18.

For 2018-19, the company reported a net profit of Rs 484.91 crore, up 40.7 per cent as compared with Rs 344.72 crore in 2017-18.

Revenue from operations stood at Rs 6,196.36 crore in 2018-19. It stood at Rs 5,015.97 crore in 2017-18.

"Escorts is committed to providing state of the art technology and unique engineering solutions for mechanised and innovative agriculture solutions, well supported infrastructure and safe rail transport," Escorts Chairman and Managing Director Nikhil Nanda said.

The company will continue to bring in new technologies with a blend of frugal engineering and global technology collaborations for domestic and global markets, enabled by strong product mix and expanded distribution network, he added.

"Our emerging businesses like crop solutions rental services, aggregation of tractors for wider usage will provide strong impetus and farmer access to modern agriculture practices," Nanda noted.

The company's board Tuesday recommended a dividend of Rs 2.50 (25 per cent) per share or Rs 10 each for 2018-19.

The board also appointed Sunil Kant Munjal as independent director for a period of five years.

Escorts shares Tuesday ended 2.96 per cent down at Rs 645 apiece on the BSE.