Farm equipment and engineering major Escorts on Friday reported a consolidated net profit of ₹265 crore for the fourth quarter ended March, compared with ₹128 crore in the corresponding period last year.

Consolidated revenue from operations also rose by 61 per cent year on year (YoY) during the period under review to ₹2,229 crore as against ₹1,386 crore in the January-March quarter 2020, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Tractor sales were up by 62 per cent at 32,588 units during the fourth quarter, Escorts said adding that the construction equipment sales were also up by 63 per cent at 1,604 units during the quarter.

Dividend

The company said its Board has recommended a total dividend of 75 per cent comprising a normal final dividend of 50 per cent and one time ‘Platinum jubilee year’ special dividend of 25 per cent i.e. total dividend of ₹7.5 per share of face value ₹10 for the financial year 2020-21 as against ₹2.5 per share for 2019-20. On a yearly basis, the company recorded its consolidated net profit at ₹872 crore, a growth of 85 per cent compared with ₹472 crore in 2019-20. Consolidated revenue from operations also grew 21 per cent to ₹7,014 crore against ₹5,810 crore in last fiscal, it said.

‘Agri sector buoyant’

Tractor sales during the year were up 24 per cent at 1,06,741 units, it added.

“Agri machinery industry remained buoyant in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2020-21 owing to positive macroeconomic factors and pent-up demand from the first and second quarters of the year. Escorts did well in this space by registering a higher market share in the fourth quarter than our average market share of the year,” Nikhil Nanda, Chairman and Managing Director, Escorts, said.

“Following government guidelines, we are making efforts to ensure that farming communities are well served in the upcoming sowing season,” Nanda said, adding the second wave of the pandemic has impacted the rural geographies as well, affecting Escorts’ core customer base.

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