Bajaj Auto Q2 profit jumps 9.2% to ₹2,005 cr

Standalone net profit of Bajaj Auto rose 9.2% year-on-year to ₹2,005 crore for the quarter ended September on the back of double-digit volume growth in the domestic market and a steady recovery of exports, further buoyed by a richer sales mix.

Revenue from operations rose 22% year-on-year to hit a new high of ₹13,127 crore.

At ₹2,653 crore, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) grew 24% year-on-year and with margin at over 20% again.

“Dynamic management of the business enabled margins to be held constant while offsetting the drag from the significant step up of electric two-wheelers and commodity inflation,” the automaker says. The over 40 bps YoY accretion was driven primarily by favourable currency and operating leverage, it says.

Bajaj’s Chetak electric scooter volumes trebled year-on-year to 70,000 units in the second quarter. This was driven by the successful launch of the affordable variant last quarter and leveraging the wider motorcycle network to expand availability to nearly 3,000 touch points now.

The portfolio comprising of electric and CNG vehicles across both two- and three-wheeler portfolio, now contributes a significant 40% of total domestic revenues.

Sustained momentum in the domestic business led to its highest revenue and tenth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth aided by both motorcycles and commercial vehicles and propelled by the near trebling of electric scooters, the company says.

Export revenue grew in double digits, on better USD/INR realisation, a richer mix and another record quarter for Latin America. Pulsar continues to gain traction across markets as it delivered its highest quarterly sales of over 110,00 units, while Africa (notably Nigeria) albeit lower than the previous year, continues to see an encouraging directional uptick, partly aided by focussed interventions taken, the automaker says.

Motorcycles maintained double digit growth, as Pulsar's premiumisation thrust drives sports segment competitive outperformance. The automaker says it has billed over 30,000 units of CNG motorbike 'Freedom 125' since its launch in July.

Domestic market focus saw Triumph deliver 50% QoQ volume (10,000 domestic, 16,500 total) from an extended network of over 100 dealers.

At 140K units, Commercial Vehicles clocked another all-time high on volumes and resultant revenue. Bajaj says it is on the path to replicating the leadership of the ICE three-wheeler segment to electric three-wheelers, as the segment exit market share reached 35%, having doubled from the end of last year, partly driven by network expansion to over 600 touchpoints.