Bajaj Auto's Fourth Quarter Net Profit down 45 Percent



Mumbai: Two- and three-wheeler major Bajaj Auto reported a decline of 44.87 percent in its net profit for the fourth quarter of last fiscal which stood at 772 crore from 1,400.39 crore in the like period of 2010-11. The automobile major's total income increased by 11.39 percent in the period under review at 4,790.93 crore from 4,300.94 crore in the corresponding quarter of 2010-11. The company said that despite input cost pressures, but better realisation from exports enabled it to declare an earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of 972 crore with a margin at 20.7 percent for fourth quarter of 2011-12, and on full year basis an EBITDA of 4,001 crore with a margin of 20.2 percent. The company said export contributed 36 percent of its total production. It shipped out over 1.5 million motorcycles and three-wheelers across 35 countries with a leadership position in 12 countries. The exports stood at $1.36 billion with a growth of 40 percent over last year. For the full fiscal 2011-12, the company reported a fall of 10.05 percent in its net profit at 3,004.05 crore as compared to 3,339.73 crore for 2010-11. The total income, however increased to 20,137.02 crore, which is a growth of 18.62 percent from 16,974.74 crore for the year ended March 31, 2011. Bajaj Auto further reported that it has now become the world's third largest motorcycle manufacturer. The company sold over 3.8 million motorcycles worldwide. The two and three-wheeler manufacturer maintained its leadership position in the manufacturer of commercial vehicle (three-wheeler) segment and sales of more than 500,000 units. The group consolidated net profit, minority interest and share of associates declined by 13.44 percent at 3,045.40 crore as compared to 3,454.89 crore for the year ended March 31, 2011. The total group consolidated income also increased by 18.77 percent at 20,201.26 crore for the year ended March 31, 2012 from 17,008.05 crore for the year ended March 31, 2011. The company's board of directors recommended a dividend of 45 per share. The total amount of dividend and tax thereon amounts to 1,513 crore from previous year's 1,345 crore.
Source: IANS