Bosch Q3 net profit rises 31% to Rs306 crore

Automotive components and technology supplier Bosch Ltd has posted a net profit of Rs306.36 crore for the quarter ended 30 September 2014, an increase of 30.78 per cent compared to the net profit of the year-ago quarter.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs234.25 crore in the July-September quarter of FY14, Bosch said in a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Bosch India follows January-December fiscal.

Bosch, which caters to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the automobile sector, posted net sales and income from operations of Rs2,456.7 crore - a 16.3 per cent increase year-on-year.

Domestic sales increased by 18.5 per cent and export sales grew 3.3 per cent over third quarter of 2013.

Profit after tax (PAT) stood at Rs306.4 crore, resulting in an increase of 30.8 per cent compared to Q3 of 2013. There has also been a substantial increase in the non-operating income due to higher sale of one time marketable securities and other treasury related income.

Announcing the company's third quarter results Steffen Berns, managing director of Bosch Limited, said, ''Backed by strong growth in our Mobility Solutions business, previously Automotive Technology, and on a lower base from Q3, 2013, we have registered a healthy performance for the given quarter. This growth is well above the performance of the Indian automotive market for the quarter, which has benefitted from the good growth witnessed in the passenger cars and heavy commercial vehicle segment. The liquidity crunch in the market still remains a concern, especially in our trading business.'' 

The company's mobility solutions business in India, which constitutes a major portion of its revenue, grew by 18.7 per cent. Business divisions of Diesel Systems and Gasoline Systems performed especially well. Owing to weak markets, the company's business sectors besides Mobility Solutions overall grew marginally.

''Our localisation efforts, tight budgetary control and improvement in operational efficiency continue to yield good results,'' said Berns, adding that the recent strike at the company's Bangalore plant had not affected the Q3 performance, since it started in the last two weeks of the quarter ending September.

''It will have some minor effect in the subsequent quarter's performance. We are keen to resolve the issues with our union as we look forward to sustaining our growth and competitiveness in the market,'' he added.