Due to pricing rises and high local demand for its motorcycles and autorickshaws, India’s Bajaj Auto reported a second quarter profit that was higher than expected. The company’s profit for the three months that ended on September 30 rose 20% year over year to 15.30 billion Indian rupees ($186.20 million). Operational income increased by 16% to a record-high of 102.03 billion rupees.
The earnings surpassed both expert predictions of 14.66 billion Indian rupees as well as the 14.02 billion rupees Bajaj Auto earned in the third quarter of 2019, before the outbreak, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
Corporate India is optimistic that things will improve in the second half of this year because demand in cities and towns has maintained steady for everything from hair dyes to Bajaj Auto’s Pulsar motorcycles.
Due to demand for the company’s sports motorcycles, sales of domestic two-wheelers, which make up roughly 90% of the overall volume, surged 27% year over year and nearly doubled sequentially in the most recent quarter.
However, exports of both two-wheelers and commercial vehicles—which generally make up more than half of overall volumes—fell as a result of macroeconomic pressures.
The leading car manufacturers in India predict a better second half of fiscal 2023 due to decreased commodity costs and the addition of alternate semiconductor sourcing, which has limited their capacity to meet demand in recent quarters.
“Continued improvement in semiconductor supplies enabled a healthy build-back of channel inventory, ahead of the festive season,” Bajaj Auto said in a statement.
During the Hindu holiday period, which starts in the last week of September and lasts until early November, total online and offline sales are predicted to top $27 billion, which is roughly twice pre-COVID levels and a 25% increase from last year.
Through Friday’s close at 3,570.50 rupees, the Bajaj Auto stock had risen roughly 10% for the year.
