BAL net more than doubles to Rs 403 cr

Posted on: Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:53:00 EDT


Symbols: BJAUF
PUNE, India, Oct 16, 2009 (The Economic Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
BJAUF | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Bajaj Auto (BAL) said on Thursday that its net profit more than doubled in the second quarter, beating forecasts, and it saw strong sales growth in the next six months. For the quarter ended September 30, the net profit for the two- and three-wheeler maker increased to Rs 403 crore from Rs 184.9 crore a year ago, while the turnover rose to Rs 2,944.9 crore from Rs 2,617.4 crore.

According to a press release issued by Bajaj Auto, the quarter saw the auto major's "highest ever" turnover, export numbers, operating profit, and net profit. Bajaj Auto has also posted the industry's highest EBITDA margins of 22 percent. While this is a huge increase over the comparable period last year, when its was 13.6 percent, it has also bettered the last quarter's EBITDA margin of 19.5 percent.

During the second quarter, Bajaj Auto sold 6.86 lakh vehicles, compared with 6.40 lakh in the year-ago period. However, for the half year ended September 30, the company's sales slipped to 12.34 lakh units from 12.60 lakh in the first half of the last fiscal.

Bajaj Auto's profit before tax for the June-September quarter was Rs 578.8 crore, compared with Rs 265.9 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. For the half year, the profit before tax stood at Rs 994.3 crore, as against Rs 527.02 crore a year ago.

The company has seen an outgo of Rs 45.8 crore on account of the voluntary retirement scheme offered to workers at the Akurdi plant in Pune, which has to be paid by April 1, 2010. The balance Rs 91.65 crore will be paid out over the rest of the financial year.

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