On the back of strong unit sales in the quarter ending September 30, 2011, Hero MotoCorp has announced the highest-ever profit (Rs 604 crore) and total turnover (Rs 5,829 crore) for a three-month period. Its previous highest profit of Rs 597 crore was posted in the second quarter of 2009-10.

For the world's largest two-wheeler maker, which reported its first results under its new name (it dropped the Hero Honda brand this year after buying out the Japanese partner), net profits and net sales in the quarter rose 19 per cent and 28 per cent, respectively.

The results were announced after the market trading hours. Hero MotoCorp shares at the BSE were down 0.41 per cent at Rs 1,984.85 on Tuesday.

“Our bottom line results reflect our record top line performance over the past six months. This performance has come despite the rising food inflation and fuel costs. These two areas remain a concern for the industry, as it might adversely impact consumer spending in the coming months,” Mr Pawan Munjal, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Hero MotoCorp said.

“However, we remain confident of carrying forward the buoyancy in our sales. We expect our retail volumes to peak during the festive month of October, and in anticipation of rising market demand for our products in the coming months, we have been augmenting capacity at our existing plants,” he added.

Unit sales in the quarter have gone up 20 per cent 1.54 million units, with September being a record month for the company on sales of 5.49 lakh units. For the first six month of 2011-12, sales have crossed three million units and the company hopes to touch six million units by year-end.

New Scooter

The New Delhi-based two-wheeler maker now plans to launch its second model under the new brand identity in the coming months – a 110cc scooter called ‘Maestro'. The first product under the new brand was the 150cc ‘Impulse', an on-road-off-road bike, which was launched on Monday.

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