Bajaj Auto reports 53% fall in June quarter profit at ₹528 crore

Two- and three-wheeler manufacturer Bajaj Auto on Wednesday reported 53 per cent fall in its standalone profit for the quarter ended June at ₹528 crore as compared to ₹1,126 crore in the corresponding period of last fiscal.

Resultant to the Covid-19 lockdown and other measures, revenue from operations recorded a decline of 60 per cent to ₹3,079 crore in Q1 FY21 from ₹7,756 crore in Q1 FY20, the company said in a statement.

With a sharp drop in revenue from operations, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) dropped to ₹441 crore from ₹1,250 crore in the same period despite strict cost control measures.

"Fixed cost spends were controlled across all plants and locations. In addition, marketing and advertisement spends were also curtailed. For Q1 FY21, the EBITDA margin was 14.3 per cent," said Bajaj Auto.

While the operating profit was reduced to ₹376 crore from ₹1,189 crore, the profit before tax got slashed to ₹682 crore in Q1 FY21 from ₹1,579 crore in the same period of previous fiscal.

As on June 30, surplus cash and cash equivalents stood at ₹14,232 crore as against ₹14,322 crore last year, said Chief Financial Officer Soumen Ray.

In volume terms, the company sold 4.43 lakh units in Q1 FY21 as against 12.47 units in the year-ago period.

"Q1 has been an extremely challenging quarter due to the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic. Lockdown and other containment and precautionary measures have resulted in disrupted supply lines and a sharp decline in overall demand," the company said.

"The impact of this pandemic was experienced in India and in countries across the globe that we export to. While we have restarted operations, sporadic localised lockdowns are disrupting the supply chain and impacting the ability of the business to return towards normalcy."