Hinduja Group flagship company Ashok Leyland today reported 455 per cent jump in net profit for the quarter ended December at Rs 104.63 crore on the back of robust sales growth.
The automobile manufacturer had registered a net profit of Rs 18.86 crore in the same quarter a year ago.
Sales revenue was up 81 per cent at Rs 1,815.53 crore against Rs 1,004.49 crore in the corresponding period the previous fiscal.
During the quarter under review, sales volume increased by 101 per cent at 16,129 units against 8,011 in the year-ago period, the company said in a statement.
"This quarter signals the return to normalcy. The common theme in the results is the improved profitability even though sales volume recovery is not quite complete," Ashok Leyland Managing Director R Seshasayee said.
Out of the near-5,100 vehicle orders that the company had bagged from various state transport corporations, under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), it has delivered more than 2,000 buses by December-end, he added.
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"We hope to deliver most of the balance vehicles before March 2010," Seshasayee said.
The company said employee costs during the quarter rose by 42 per cent to Rs 173.61 crore as it had cut working days and employees took a voluntary salary cut in the year-ago period.
For the nine months ended December 2009, sales revenue was down 10 per cent at Rs 4305.67 crore, while net profit was up 47 per cent at Rs 201.01 crore.