Confident of outperforming industry in domestic, global markets: TVS Motor

In international markets, CEO Radhakrishnan exuded hope to perform better in key markets like Africa

TVS Motor Company expects to grow faster than the competition across domestic and international markets this fiscal riding on the back of new product launches and strengthening of operations across key regions, according to CEO KN Radhakrishnan.

He noted that in the domestic market, the company expects growth momentum to continue with normal monsoons likely to add strength to the rural markets.

In international markets, Radhakrishnan exuded hope to perform better in key markets like Africa this year while expanding operations in other regions like the Middle East and Latin America.

"Our strong product portfolio; our unwavering focus on the consumers, quality, new products and attractive quality and technology, we are confident that we will outperform the industry both in the domestic and international markets," Radhakrishnan said in an analyst call.

He noted that the growth momentum is likely to be maintained with the budget focusing on employment generation, continued higher commitment to infrastructure and rural economy.

"We are expecting rural markets to recover. With the expected normal monsoon, we could witness robust growth in Q2," Radhakrishnan stated.

He noted that for the first time the company is witnessing that the rural areas were doing slightly better than the urban markets.

The improving road infrastructure and economic environment will drive the demand for two-wheeler mobility, he added.

The two-wheeler segment has got a huge opportunity in the medium and the long term given the challenges in mobility as well as also investments from the government on the infrastructure and road development, he said.

TVS Motor Company plans to expand the sales of its electric vehicles to both developing and developed markets, betting big on India's potential to emerge as a major export hub for electric two-wheelers, according to Director and CEO KN Radhakrishnan.

The company will leverage on its plant in Indonesia to cater to other neighbouring markets in the ASEAN region, where it has started selling its electric scooter TVS iQube last year, he told analysts.

In the first quarter of this fiscal TVS Motor Co sold a total of 52,000 units of electric two-wheelers, as against 39,000 units in the same period last year.

The company, which has earmarked over Rs 1,000 crore capex this year, is gearing up to introduce one product each in the electric and internal combustion engine segments in the ongoing quarter.

A significant proportion of the earmarked capital is expected to go towards the design and development of new products, Radhakrishnan stated.

"I want to highlight that the company will be launching one product in ICE and one product in EV in this quarter and that will further strengthen our range of product portfolio," he said.

Commenting on international business, Radhakrishnan said that the Red Sea issue has led to challenges in terms of enhanced transit periods for overseas dispatches.

He noted that TVS has taken enough countermeasures to mitigate these challenges and the situation is likely to improve in the ongoing quarter.

Certain select African markets are facing challenges due to currency devaluation and persistent inflation, he said.

"However, considering the base effect in our assessment, the possibility of further decline in Africa is low. We feel that we will be doing better in Africa this year," he added.

He further said: "Besides, Latin America gives us a huge opportunity. We have started exporting to LATAM. In Asia, we are seeing some challenges in Bangladesh, but we are hopeful that things will settle down soon."

The Middle East is also a huge opportunity for TVS and the company is strengthening its operations in the region, he stated.

For the April-June quarter this fiscal, TVS Motor Company reported a 6 per cent year-on-year increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 461 crore. Total income rose to Rs 10,448 crore for the period under review as compared to Rs 9,142 crore in the year-ago period.