Bajaj Auto registers 20% rise in year on year profit, tops Q2 estimates

According to IBES data from Refinitiv, the profit exceeded both analysts’ forecasts of 14.66 billion Indian rupees as well as the 14.02 billion rupees Bajaj Auto made in the third quarter of 2019, prior to the pandemic.

Corporate India is confident that its fortunes will turn around in the second half of this year because demand for everything from hair dyes to Bajaj Auto’s Pulsar motorcycles has held up in cities and towns.

Sales of domestic two-wheelers, which make up about 90% of the total volume, increased 27% year over year and nearly doubled sequentially in the most recent quarter due to demand for the company’s sports bikes.

However, due to macroeconomic pressures, exports of both two-wheelers and commercial vehicles—which typically account for more than half of total volumes—fell.

Due to lower commodity costs and the addition of alternative semiconductor sourcing, which has hampered their ability to meet demand in recent quarters, India’s top vehicle manufacturers anticipate a better second half of fiscal 2023.

“Continued improvement in semiconductor supplies enabled a healthy build-back of channel inventory, ahead of the festive season,” Bajaj Auto said in a statement.

According to industry estimates, total online and offline sales during the Hindu festival period, which begins in the last week of September and lasts until early November, are expected to surpass $27 billion, which is nearly twice pre-COVID levels and a 25% increase from last year.

Through Friday’s close of 3,570.50 rupees, the stock of Bajaj Auto had increased by almost 10% for the year.

(With inputs from Reuters)