India's TVS Motor misses Q4 profit estimate as costs rise

India's TVS Motor Company reported a smaller-than-expected fourth-quarter profit on Wednesday, as higher costs overshadowed steady demand for its two-wheelers. The maker of Jupiter scooters and Apache motorcycles said its profit rose 18.3% from a year earlier to 4.85 billion rupees ($58 million) in the quarter ending March 31, missing analysts' estimate of 5.52 billion rupees, per LSEG data.

Revenue from operations rose nearly 24% to 81.69 billion rupees, beating analysts' estimates of 80.08 billion rupees.

The rise in revenue was offset by the near 22% rise in total expenses, which was led by a more than 23% increase in the cost of materials consumed.

Key input commodity costs for automakers, like copper, rubber and lead, rose in the fourth quarter, analysts said.

TVS Motor's tax expense also rose about 37% to 1.86 billion rupees.

Its two-wheeler sales rose about 23% to more than a million units in the March quarter, with motorcycles making up almost half of these.

Shares ofTVS Motors have lost 1.4% this year, while those of peers Bajaj Auto and Hero MotoCorp have risen 28.7% and 12.1%, respectively.

Bajaj Auto and Hero MotoCorp have reported larger-than-expected quarterly profits for the fourth quarter.