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Truck-maker Ashok Leyland has reported sales of Rs 11,118 crore for the year 2010-11 — it is for the first time that the turnover of the 64-year-old company has crossed the Rs 10,000-crore mark.
The 54 per cent rise in turnover has come up from a 67 per cent increase in the number of vehicles sold — a record 95,337 units, including exports of 10,306.
More vehicles
Sales buoyed particularly in the January-March 2011 quarter, when the company sold 29,679 vehicles, 61 per cent more than it did in the corresponding quarter of 2010.
The company also made a record net profit of Rs 631 crore for the year.
Its board of directors has recommended a dividend of Rs 2 for each share (of face value of Re 1).
Also, last year because of the mandatory shift to BS-III emission standards and an overhaul of its own product offerings, Ashok Leyland launched 750 new truck variants — another record.
U-truck sales
Ashok Leyland sold 1,200 U-trucks — a new range of vehicles launched in October last year — and finds the number of sales encouraging.
(Simply put, the U-truck is a platform which offers the customer a range of choices for engine, gear box, axle and suspensions. The trucks also have a lot more of common parts across the entire range.)
U-truck sales are significant to Ashok Leyland because the company sets great store by the vehicles, which it hopes will replace the existing range of vehicles.
Investment
At a press conference here today, Ashok Leyland's Managing Director, Mr Vinodh Dasari and Executive Director-Finance, Mr K. Sridharan, said that the company would invest about Rs 1,000 crore.
Half the amount would be put into a clutch of joint ventures that the company has formed in the recent years. The rest will go into development of new vehicles, and the new engine, Neptune.
Consolidation ahead
However, the company believes that the current year would be a ‘year of growth and consolidation'. Rising interest costs and diesel prices are going to be “growth dampeners”, Mr Dasari said, but added that since the fundamentals of the economy are strong, “we are cautiously optimistic about the future”.
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