Bajaj Auto on Thursday reported a 35 percent year-on-year (year-on-year) increase in profit after tax (PAT) to Rs 1,936 crore, riding on 29 percent growth in revenue from operations of Rs 11,485 crore in the fourth quarter of 2011 .Fiscal year 2023-24 (Q4 FY24).
The two and three-wheeler manufacturer’s sales growth was led by domestic companies and supported by steady exports despite challenges in foreign markets. Successively, turnover and PAT fell by 5 percent.
Bajaj Auto stock closed the day’s trade on BSE down 1.1 percent at Rs 9,017.75 per piece. The company’s results were in line with Bloomberg estimates of a 29.6 percent increase in year-over-year adjusted net income and 28.7 percent growth in operating revenue.
In Q4 FY24, Bajaj Auto’s motorcycles gained domestic market share in the above 125cc segment. More than 100,000 commercial vehicles (three-wheelers) were sold. Electric three-wheeler sales also improved as the company expanded its network to 60 cities. Chetak’s electric scooter posted its highest quarterly sales in the fourth quarter of FY24, as Triumph motorcycle volumes expanded to 18,800 units. About 70 percent of Triumph sales went as seed products – a marketing term for promoting an item – to overseas markets. Export revenues increased by 20 percent year-on-year.
Rakesh Sharma, executive director of Bajaj Auto, said the company sold 39,000 to 40,000 Chetak scooters in the fourth quarter of FY24 – more than in the entire FY2023. Sharma did not share the FY24 sales figures for the Chetak.
Bajaj aims to have 600 Chetak stores in four to five months, expanding from 200 at present. Sales of high-speed models of the scooter grew nearly 28 percent in FY24 and business is expected to be better in FY25 after the withdrawal of government subsidy, Sharma said.
“We will be launching a new product under the Chetak umbrella in May and we are investing in Chetak Technologies for more advanced technology. New models from the Chetak stable would be more for the masses,” he said without revealing price points.
Bajaj Auto is exploring new markets in Europe and is considering re-entering the Egyptian market with Qute (car taxi). It stopped exporting to Egypt in April 2022.
In FY24, the company had the highest ever revenue and PAT. For the full year, operating revenues rose 23 percent to Rs 44685 crore. PAT rose 33 percent to reach Rs 7,479 crore. Ebitda, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, stood at Rs 8,285 crore, a 35 percent year-on-year growth over Ebitda and the highest in the company.
In FY24, the domestic operations achieved the highest revenue driven by volume growth across all operations. Bajaj Auto said it nearly quadrupled its electric vehicle sales in the year. Exports in the second half of the year were flat as the company faced difficult macroeconomic conditions in Africa and Asia. Approximately 42,000 Triumph motorcycles were delivered in FY24. Sales of three-wheelers grew by 54 percent to 464,138 units in the domestic market.
First print: April 18, 2024 | 8:22 PM IST