Bajaj Auto Q4 net rises 70%

Bajaj Auto, the country's second largest motorcycle maker, reported a better-than-expected 70 per cent growth in net profit in the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2006 compared with the corresponding period of the previous year.

The excellent show was mainly due to robust growth in sale and stable cost of raw material during the period. The company declared 400 per cent dividend for 2005-06 against the previous year's 250 per cent.

The Bajaj family managed Bajaj Auto, which also makes scooters and dominates the market for three-wheeled motorised rickshaws, posted a net profit of Rs 346.97 crore in the fourth quarter ended March, 2006 against the previous corresponding period's Rs 204.63 crore.

Net sales and income from operations, during the period, went up by 32.5 per cent from Rs 1,634.61 crore to Rs 2,165.86 crore.

The Bajaj Auto stock opened at Rs 3,100 in a weak Mumbai market. It went down to Rs 2,660. But the announcement of good show in the fourth quarter lifted the sentiment and finally the stock closed at Rs 2,949.80 on the BSE, 2.07 per cent down from yesterday's close of Rs 3,012.05.

Net profit for 2005-06 rose 54 per cent to Rs 1,123 crore against Rs 729 crore in the previous year. Turnover, net of sales, in the full year grew 28 per cent to Rs 8,106.4 crore from Rs 6,322.8 crore in 2004-05.

The company sold 621,972 vehicles in the Jan-March quarter, up 29 percent from the same quarter a year earlier. It sold 2.28 million vehicles in the year to March, up by a fourth. Exports, during the full year, grew 27 per cent tp 250,204.

Sanjiv Bajaj, executive director, said the company would invest Rs 1,500 crore in next three years to enhance capacity as well as improve retail business. He said the company expected sales to grow 25 percent annually.