Bajaj Auto on Wednesday reported a 38 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) jump in consolidated profit after tax for the October-December quarter of the current financial year at Rs 2032 crore, beating analyst estimates as the company rode on the back of a strong domestic business (good festive season). Revenue from operations came in at Rs 12,165 crore, up 30 per cent.
Even as the challenges in the overseas markets continued, the Pune-headquartered two-wheeler major posted its highest-ever standalone Ebitda of Rs 2,430 crore, up 37 per cent Y-o-Y, with a resulting Ebitda margin of 20.1 per cent (up 100 bps). Margins stepped up, driven by better realisations, cost management efforts and operating leverage which more than absorbed the drag from competitive investments on the growing scale of electric scooters.
Sequentially, the consolidated PAT was up 0.6 per cent and revenue from operations rose 12 per cent. The stock reacted positively to the results, going up 1.7 per cent to end the day’s trade at Rs 7,211 apiece on the BSE. Bloomberg analyst estimates pegged 29 per cent PAT growth Rs 1,900 crore, and a 33 per cent growth in net sales.
Bajaj now at No.3 among electric 2-wheeler makers
The company said that Chetak volumes are steadily scaling up with a three-fold growth Y-o-Y and a market share of 14 per cent (up from 5 per cent in the previous year).
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“We rank number three now according to Vahan registration data. We have plans to add to the Chetak portfolio in the first quarter of 2024-25 fiscal. From a 3,000-4,000 per month sales at the beginning of this fiscal Chetak volumes have climbed to 10,000 per month levels now, and we see this going further up to 15,000 per month in the fourth quarter of 2023-24,” said Rakesh Sharma, executive director, Bajaj Auto.
African and LatAm export markets continue to be a drag
Bajaj Auto’s overall two-wheeler sales in the domestic market grew 44 per cent Y-o-Y in the third quarter, while the commercial vehicle (three-wheeler) sales grew by 38 per cent. In domestic motorcycle sales, Bajaj claimed it is growing at twice the rate of the market buoyed by the over 125 cc segment demand.
Two-wheeler exports dipped by 3 per cent Y-o-Y, while commercial vehicle exports dipped by 12 per cent. Bajaj, however, said that exports had double-digit revenue growth Y-o-Y on better mix and dollar realisation. Africa (notably Nigeria) and South American markets are still not doing well for exports.
The company is selling more than 40,000 units a month in commercial vehicles. It is planning to have a presence in 40 cities by Q4FY24 in the electric three-wheeler segment, from a current 23 cities.
Similarly, for Triumph range of premium bikes it is planning to expand presence to 100-120 cities by Q4FY24 from a current 40 city-footprint.
Sharma said they have cornered a 15-20 per cent market share in some of the cities. Bajaj Auto has surplus cash of Rs 18,439 crore at the end of December. It has announced a Rs 4000 crore share buyback plan at Rs 10,000 per share.