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Hero MotoCorp, India's largest two-wheeled vehicle maker, beat analyst estimates with a 9% rise in profit, the first gain in five quarters.
Net profit was Rs 481 crore for the fiscal second-quarter ended September 30, Hero said in a statement on Wednesday. That compared with the Rs 441 crore of a year earlier, and the Rs 463 crore mean estimate of 14 analysts according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Net sales rose 11% to Rs 5,700 crore, compared with the estimate of Rs 5,702 crore.
Sales in volume terms rose 6% from a year earlier, when the company reduced production to adjust its inventory.
Since its 2011 split from Japan's Honda Motor Co, Hero has been investing heavily in technology and increasing exports, which were restricted under the terms of the 26-year joint venture.
