Bajaj Auto net profit declines 22% to Rs 1,194 cr in September quarter

Bajaj Auto on Thursday said its consolidated net profit declined by 21.62 per cent to Rs 1,193.97 crore for the quarter ended September.

The two-wheeler major had posted a net profit of Rs 1,523.31 crore in the July-September period of previous fiscal.

The company’s revenue from operations declined to Rs 7,155.86 crore during the period under review as compared with Rs 7,707.32 crore in the year-ago period, Bajaj Auto said in a regulatory filing.

The Pune-headquartered firm reported total volumes of 10,53,337 units in the second quarter, down 10 per cent from 11,73,591 units in July-September quarter of 2019-20.

Domestic two-wheeler volumes, however, saw an increase of 6 per cent at 5,50,194 units during the second quarter as against 5,21,350 units in the same period last fiscal.

“Domestic two-wheelers registered a strong turnaround in the first half of the quarter driven by pent up demand. While the exact festive spike is awaited, early signs show (strong) indications of a recovery,” the two-wheeler major noted.

The industry grew by 7 per cent in the second quarter and the company’s growth was in line with the industry, Bajaj auto said.

“Hence, our market share was 18.2 per cent in the first half of the fiscal as against 18.1 per cent in the first half of 2019-20,” it added.

However, domestic commercial vehicle volumes continue to remain muted and are dependent on the return of adequate short distance mobility demand, the company said.

“Within CV, cargo has fared better than passenger and our share has increased to 37 per cent which is the highest ever. Overall, our market share was 53.3 per cent,” it added.

As on September 30, the company’s surplus cash and cash equivalents stood at Rs 16,240 crore as against Rs 14,232 crore as on June 30, 2020, and Rs 14,322 crore as on March 31, 2020, Bajaj Auto said.