Bajaj Auto, the two-wheeler manufacturer, clocked its highest ever standalone profit at Rs 1,556.3 crore in December 2020, rising 23.4 percent compared to the year-ago period, driven by volume growth and operating performance.
Its revenue increased by 16.6 percent year-on-year to Rs 8,910 crore, which was also the highest for a quarter.
Volumes grew by 9 percent YoY, driven by a 26 percent growth in motorcycle exports and 8 percent increase in domestic volumes but the three-wheeler segment declined 36 percent year-on-year.
The company's share of the domestic motorcycle market was 18.6 percent, up from 17.5 percent in the previous quarter and 18.5 percent in FY20.
Domestic commercial vehicle business remained affected due to inadequate demand for short-distance mobility, the company said.
At operating level, its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 26.5 percent to Rs 1,730 crore and margin rose 150 bps to 19.4 percent in Q3FY21, YoY, driven by higher operating leverage and better product mix.
Numbers were ahead of analysts' estimates. Profit was estimated at Rs 1,348 crore on revenue of Rs 8,872 crore and EBITDA was expected at Rs 1,527 crore with the margin at 17.1 percent for the quarter ended December 2020, as per a CNBC-TV18 poll.
As of December 2020, the company said it had surplus cash and cash equivalents at Rs 16,891 crore as against Rs 16,240 crore at the end of September 2020.
Bajaj Auto in December 2020 signed a memorandum of understanding with the Maharashtra government to set up a new unit at Chakan for manufacturing of high-end motorcycles and electric vehicles at a proposed investment of Rs 650 crore. The facility is expected to commence production in 2023, said the company.
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