Bajaj Auto has reported its best-ever financial performance with 12 percent YoY growth in net profit at Rs 5,628 crore, revenue from operations at Rs 36,428 crore, up 10 percent YoY and EBITDA at Rs 6,551 crore, up 25 percent.
Improvement in domestic performance helped Bajaj Auto counter the effects of the slowdown in the export market.
During the year, the company sold 18,05,883 motorcycles in the domestic market, up 10 percent, and 3,00,734 three-wheelers, up 87 percent YoY. On the export front, the company shipped 16,36,956 motorcycles, down 25 percent YoY and 1,84,284 three-wheelers, down 41 percent YoY.
Addressing a virtual media roundtable, Dinesh Thapar, CFO, Bajaj Auto attributed the results to judicious pricing, richer product mix, and growth from the motorcycle segment in the 125cc and above category among others, “We started from a very constrained space in Q1 FY2023. There were constrain in supplies but we have come a long way from there.”
Nigeria which is amongst its top export market, saw more than expected sluggishness during the last fiscal. However, March numbers offer some signs of recovery.
Domestic Business
Thapar stated that in the domestic motorcycle segment, the Pulsar portfolio did quite well and the introduction of Platina 110cc with ABS was also seeing improved traction. The Pulsar, Dominar, and KTM portfolios registered lifetime highs.
In the three-wheeler space, the company claims to have its highest-ever market share of more than 70 percent, thanks to a strong recovery post covid-19.
Electrification, investment and new product launches
The company had relaunched the Chetak brand in an electric avatar and was testing the market as well as building up the supply chain. It now will firmly focus on scaling up the brand, it aims to increase production from an average of 3,000 units to up to 10,000 units a month.
The upcoming launch of the Bajaj-Triumph co-developed motorcycle will expand its presence in the premium category. In addition, Thapar also revealed the launch of its first electric three-wheeler soon.
When asked about would the electric three-wheeler eat into its own IC-counterpart sales, Thapar explained, “We will introduce electric three-wheeler in a phased manner. We will closely watch the space, as the use-case for electric two- and three-wheeler is different. The opportunities for electric three-wheelers will also be driven by certain geographies where there might be restrictions for their IC-counterpart.”
To drive the growth, Bajaj Auto estimates a Capex of around Rs 750 crore in FY2024, of which around Rs 500 crore will primarily go towards the launch of the electric three-wheeler.
Speaking about the introduction of two-wheelers in the 500cc and above category, Thapar said that the company is mulling importing products from the KTM and Triumph family to India.
