 "Bajaj Auto")
Bajaj Auto's consolidated net profit jumped by 41.33 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 1,644 crore in the first quarter of the financial year on the back of strong domestic sales, better cost management and improved foreign exchange realisation, the company said on Tuesday.
The automobile company's consolidated net profit, however, decreased by 3.55 per cent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) due to "planned typical season skew for commuter motorcycles", Bajaj said in a statement.
Hero MotoCorp has about 60 per cent share in the commuter motorcycle segment (75cc-125cc bikes).
Bajaj said the company's consolidated income jumped by 28.09 per cent YoY to Rs 10,663 crore on the back of "double-digit volume growth, with the sustained buoyancy on the domestic front cushioning the weak albeit improving exports performance".
Its export volumes improved sequentially by 12 per cent amid the continued macro challenges in the overseas markets.
However, on a YoY basis, two-wheeler export volumes were down 35 per cent.
Rakesh Sharma, executive director of Bajaj Auto, said that industry retails in export markets where Bajaj operates were 2 per cent up in Q1FY24 compared to Q4FY23.
In comparison, Bajaj Auto retails were up 5 per cent.
“The top 15 markets that we have which account for 80 per cent of our exports business, Q1 was 4 per cent better than Q4 for industry. For Bajaj, it was 7 per cent up in Q1 compared to Q4, indicating a bottoming out,” he said.
He said that Nigeria would settle down further, and the change in regulations in the Philippines is in its last stage, and thereby demand would improve from here on.
"While the country's retail volumes oustripped export billed volumes yet again, decisive interventions taken particularly on currency availability enabled the uptick in shipments to Africa and Latin America," Bajaj noted.
In domestic motorcycle sales, April volumes were negative, May and June picked up.
The over 125 cc bikes market constitutes 70 per cent of its sales, which was around 60 per cent or so a year back.
The company said that its YoY performance in Q1 of this financial year was led by consistent focus on 125cc plus motorcycle segment and "sharp execution" in seasonal marriage markets.
The company added Rs 2,000 crore of free cash flow during the first quarter of this financial year.
This will provide "sufficient capacity for growth, competitive investments and shareholder returns", it mentioned.
Bajaj Auto garnered 17,000 bookings for the newly launched Triumph Speed 400 and dispatches have begun.
Sharma said that they are looking at production volumes of 5,000 units for this bike in the current quarter, and export demand would start from October onwards.
As for two-wheelers, he felt that typically the second-quarter sales are lower than the first-quarter, which are boosted by marriage demand.
Festive demand would come into play in the third quarter.
Bajaj Chetak's EV volumes were up two times sequentially, and three times YoY during Q1FY24, selling 17,000 units.
In the three-wheelers segment, the company's market share touched 80 per cent for the first time.
