Ashok Leyland Q4 net down 42% to Rs 150cr; shrs fall
India's second largest truck and bus maker Ashok Leyland's fourth quarter net profit fell 42 percent year-on-year to Rs 150 crore, while sales declined 14 percent to Rs 3,648 crore. Profit included exceptional gain of Rs 134 crore, excluding which, earnings were way below street estimates.
Moneycontrol Bureau
Ashok Leyland's net profit for the fourth quarter declined 42 percent year-on-year to Rs 150 crore, amid a continued slowdown in the medium and heavy commercial vehicle market.The net profit included an exceptional gain of Rs 134 crore on sale of investments. It also had lower tax expense of Rs 11 crore, compared with Rs 56 crore in the year ago quarter.The India's second largest commercial vehicle maker's net sales in Jan-March were down 14 percent from a year ago to Rs 3,648 crore.Analysts had expected the company to report a net profit of Rs 148 crore on revenue of Rs 3,900 crore.Ashok Leyland's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) was at Rs 199 crore, sharply lower than street expectation of Rs 368 crore. Operating profit margin came in at 5.3 percent, compared with analysts expectation of 9.4 percent.Sales of commercial vehicles, especially medium and heavy trucks, have been hit over the last one year in India, as logistics firms and truck operators, delayed fleet expansions and new buys as the overall economy slowed. Also Read: Indian car market undergoes worst sales streak in historyAshok Leyland sold 70,917 M&HCVs in the domestic market in FY2013, down from 81,545 units it sold a year ago. Exports also declined to 8,778 units from 12,852 units due to losses in key SAARC (South Asian Association of Regional Conference) countries, the company said.Its M&HCV market share was 26.5 percent in the domestic market.The Hinduja Group company also sold 34,917 units of its small truck Dost, in its first full year of production.Vinod Dasari, the company's MD feels sales are likely to remain slow in the first half of the year, with some pickup likely in the later part of FY2014."While the commercial vehicle market is largely tied to the general economy, the imminent release of funds for several infrastructure projects and a reduction in interest rates bode well for the M&HCV market. We expect that while the market is likely to fall slightly in the first half compared to the previous year, we expect some improvements in the second half of the year," he said.Dasari further said that the company will launch several new products this year, which includes a new range of ICV (intermediate commercial vehicle) products in July and the heavy truck cab in October. Several products will also be launched under the joint venture with Japan's Nissan, which will expand their range in LCVs, he added. Ashok Leyland shares closed at Rs 22.45 on NSE, down 0.9 percent on NSE on Friday.Nachiket Kelkar
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