Bajaj Auto Q2 profit rises 53 pc to Rs 2,122 cr

New Delhi, Nov 7 (PTI) Bajaj Auto on Friday said its consolidated profit after tax increased 53 per cent year-on-year to Rs 2,122 crore in the September quarter, aided by robust sales in export markets.

The Pune-based firm reported a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 1,385 crore in the September quarter of the previous fiscal year.

Revenue from operations rose to Rs 15,735 crore during the September quarter as compared with Rs 13,247 crore in the year-ago period, Bajaj Auto said in a regulatory filing.

The company said its sales volume grew to 12,94,120 units in the September quarter, up 6 per cent as compared with 12,21,504 units in the year-ago period.

Bajaj said its domestic sales volume declined 5 per cent year-on-year to 7,40,793 units during the quarter.

Export volumes rose 24 per cent to 7,40,793 units in the July-September period, it added.

In an earnings call with reporters, Bajaj Auto Executive Director Rakesh Sharma said, "All the business units this time came through very, very well.

"The domestic business units, which are the motorcycles, three-wheelers, the premium biking, KTM, Triumph, stepped (up) on it." Three-wheelers also performed very well, he added.

In September, he said, sales nosedived after the proposal for GST rate cuts was announced and then picked up once it was executed on September 22, and continued to rise in the festive season.

"It (GST rate cut) was the perfect catalyst. An industry which was languishing at least in motorcycles at 'minus one' (per cent) from April to August, suddenly got a steroid injection at the right time. It surged forward, and we took full advantage of it, and it has helped us." Sharma also noted that after the GST rate cut, "the up trading forces have become slightly stronger...we find that the top end of each segment has outperformed the rest of the segment".

On the electric vehicles front, Sharma said, "Most of the quarter, we still had supply constraints, about 15 per cent constraint in electric three-wheelers, and about 50 per cent supply chain constraint in Chetak (electric scooter). By the end of September, we were resolving it, and supply started to flow." The October outcomes have been quite good for Chetak, he noted, adding, the company's "electric business has got into double-digit profitability".

The company has shifted to low rare earth (LRE) magnets from high rare earth (HRE) magnets, which has eased the supply issues after China put restrictions on exports of rare earth materials earlier this year.

On the international business, he said, "It was a great quarter. In terms of revenue, it was the highest ever quarter for us, with 35 per cent growth over the same quarter last year." In October, Bajaj Auto's exports breached the two lakh units mark again after almost 40 months, he said, adding that, unlike in the previous instance, Nigeria accounted for about 60,000 to 70,000 units when the company exported 2 lakh units; this time, it is only about 25,000 to 30,000 units, reflecting the company's broad-based global markets. PTI MSS RKL SHW