Bajaj Auto Q2 net profit rises 13% to Rs837.16 cr

Two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto Ltd has reported 13 per cent increase in its net profit for the second quarter ended 30 September at Rs837.16 crore, against Rs740.67 crore during the same quarter of the previous year.

The company said net sales during the quarter were higher at Rs5,061.49 crore against Rs4,817.07 crore in the same quarter last fiscal, up 5.07 per cent.

The company recorded its best quarter ever with highest ever net (after-tax) profit of Rs837 crore, the highest ever operating profit (EBITDA) of Rs1,204 crore and the highest-ever profit before tax of Rs1,212 crore.

Bajaj Auto said its EBITDA margin for the quarter stood at 23.1 per cent.

The company sold 961,330 vehicles during the quarter against 1,049,208 sold in the year-before quarter – an eight per cent year-on-year decline.

Total sales for the first half of the financial year 2013-14 (April-September 2013-14) stood at 1,940,605 down nine per cent from the 2,128,179 vehicles sold in the first half of the previous financial year.

Turnover for the second quarter, however was three per cent higher at Rs5,299, compared to 5139 3 vehicles sold in the same quarter of the previous financial year.

Turnover during the first half of the 2013-14 financial year was up two per cent at Rs10,386 crore against Rs10,187 crore in the previous year quarter.

Bajaj Auto said its international business, which account for 40 per cent of total revenue, has helped the company grow profit despite a decline in volume sales.

''Over the last five years, strategic initiatives taken to enter into difficult markets, like Africa, are yielding rich dividends. The benefits are now further enhanced with the depreciating rupee,'' the company said.

Export revenue during the quarter stood at Rs2,125 crore, against Rs1,686 crore in the same period last fiscal, up 26 per cent. This was the highest export revenue, it added.