The Hindu Business Line : TVS Motor Q2 net down to Rs 34 cr; to pay 70 pc interim

TVS Motor Company has reported a decline in its net profit for the quarter ended September to Rs 34.24 crore, compared with Rs 36.98 crore in the same period last year.

The board of directors has declared an interim dividend of 70 paise per share of Re 1, or, 70 per cent.

The dividend will absorb Rs 16.63 crore. The record date has been fixed for November 1.

The turnover declined to Rs 751.52 crore from Rs 773.62 crore previously. The quarter under review includes the results of the engine components division of Lakshmi Auto Components Ltd, which has since been amalgamated with TVS Motor.

In the first half of the current year, turnover slid to Rs 1,369.59 crore from Rs 1,444.67 crore in the same period last year. Net profit came down to Rs 61.42 crore, from Rs 69.06 crore.

Addressing a press conference, the Chairman and Managing Director of TVS Motor Company, Mr Venu Srinivasan, said that with the launch of TVS Star, the company was present in all the price segments with a 4-stroke model. Star is an `entry-level' 100cc 4-stroke motorcycle, priced around Rs 31,000. "Star will now fill a gap created by fall in demand for 2-stroke motorcycles," he said.

The company expects to have sold eight lakh motorcycles this year. It also expects to export around 24,000 motorcycles, twice as many as last year.