Bajaj Auto (NSE:BAJAJ-AUTO, BOM:532977) reported record quarterly profit and revenue in the fiscal first quarter ended June 30 on the back of strong demand for its two-wheelers and electric vehicles at home and overseas.
Consolidated net profit rose 45.9% to 32.3 billion Indian rupees from 22.1 billion rupees a year earlier, according to a bourse filing Tuesday.
Earnings per share climbed to 106.80 rupees from 75 rupees.
Revenue from operations surged 37% year over year to an all-time high of 172.4 billion rupees, the company said, citing record quarterly volumes.
Quarterly sales volume stood at 1.4 million units, up 29% from 1.1 million units a year prior. The increase was mainly driven by a 54% jump in exports and an 11% increase in domestic sales.
The upbeat performance was also boosted by the first full-quarter consolidation of Bajaj Mobility AG, the Austria-based parent of European premium motorcycles manufacturer KTM Group.
During an earnings call, Bajaj Auto's Joint Managing Director Rakesh Sharma acknowledged that the company delivered its "highest quarterly performance across all parameters."
"We are looking at moving exports to beyond the 250,000 per month level this quarter and onwards. As you will recall, we were just a few quarters earlier trying to knock at 200,000," Sharma said.
The company's record figures came despite inflationary pressures.
"The commodity inflation we absorbed in this single quarter was greater than the totality of the inflation that we've experienced over the previous two financial years put together," Bajaj Auto CFO Dinesh Thapar told analysts during the earnings call.
"That, I believe, gives you a sense of the sheer intensity and enormity of the issue that we were faced with on the cost environment."
Thapar added that pricing actions taken in April and June offset nearly half of the inflationary hit.
In June, India's producer price inflation accelerated to an all-time high of 9.57%.
Looking ahead, Bajaj said it plans an "exhaustive portfolio makeover" within the next six weeks, including introducing a new 150cc and 125cc under the Pulsar brand.
