 "Bajaj Auto Q3 FY25 results: Net profit rises 8% to Rs 2,196 crore")
Pune-based Bajaj Auto, which recently forayed into CNG bikes and made the Chetak the bestselling electric scooter in December, posted an 8 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) rise in consolidated profit after tax (PAT) for the third quarter of the current financial year (Q3FY25) to Rs 2,196 crore while its revenues grew by 8.2 per cent to Rs 13,169 crore.
The Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) margin remained steady at 20.2 per cent — fifth consecutive quarter of over 20 per cent Ebitda margin — as favourable US dollar-INR realisation and judicious pricing and cost efficiencies offset the significant investments Bajaj Auto made on strategic priorities.
The impact of currency fluctuations (rupee depreciation) on Ebitda was around 0.5 per cent (positive) in Q3FY25, a senior company official said.
Sequentially, profits grew by 58.5 percent even as revenues dipped marginally.
The company said it had the highest-ever festive retail volumes in the domestic market, although billed volumes were recalibrated to normalise channel inventory that was built up between previous quarter and this. Exports saw a broadbased recovery that led to the return of over 500,000 units after nine quarters.
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Speaking to reporters, Rakesh Sharma, executive director, Bajaj Auto, said that export revenues have grown by 16 per cent in Q3FY25 to Rs 4,500 crore. Going forward they expect exports growth to remain strong (over 20 per cent) in the near-term as they are positive on growth from the Latin American markets.
On the domestic front, Bajaj Auto’s focus on green energy has started to pay off. The green energy portfolio now contributes around 45 per cent of revenues (up from 30 per cent last year) as it delivered around 100,000 units of both two-wheelers and three-wheelers in the quarter. It has grown market share in both electric two-wheelers (e2Ws) and electric three-wheelers (e3Ws). The company’s Q3FY25 exit market share in e2Ws was 25 per cent, up 11 per cent Y-o-Y, and in e3Ws it was up to 35 per cent from 13 per cent.
Sharma said that the margin profile of Chetak has improved and with the new 35-series, Bajaj Auto has now gone out of the red zone into profitable growth. Chetak is already the leader in the sub-Rs 1 lakh segment (2903 series), and now with the 35-series, it aims to gain share in the above-Rs 1 lakh segment where it has single-digit market share. Bajaj will launch a couple of more variants in the Chetak portfolio in the next two-three months.
Also, the over-125cc motorcycles delivered the highest-ever quarterly volumes in retail and Sharma said that he expects the overall motorcycle industry to clock 6-8 per cent growth over the next 6-8 months. In the first half of the current financial year (H1FY25), industry growth was around 6 per cent and during the festive season, it went up to 11-13 per cent. Overall industry growth has been around 8 per cent for the first nine months of the financial year (9MFY25), Sharma said. “The 125cc and above segment is growing at double the rate of the 100cc segment, and we expect to outpace industry growth in the top end of the bikes segment,” he reasoned.
As for the new CNG bike Freedom, Sharma said that they have sold 50,000 units in five months. In October, the sales had gone up to 16,000 units.
e3Ws to have new umbrella brand ‘Gogo’
Bajaj Auto will launch a new brand identity, Gogo, for its e3Ws in both cargo and passenger segments. “We will launch another variant in a month and we are also planning to increase market share in this segment. We already grew from 13 per cent in Q3 last year to 35 per cent now,” said Sharma.