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Country's largest two-wheelers manufacturer Hero MotoCorp on Thursday reported a consolidated net profit of ₹1,029 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, up 14 per cent year-on-year (YoY) as compared with ₹905 crore in the corresponding period the previous year.
Net revenue from operations rose by 38 per cent YoY to ₹9,827 crore during the October-December quarter as against ₹7,075 crore in the same period 2019. This is the highest-ever revenue recorded in a quarter, the company said in a statement.
The company said it sold 18.45 lakh units in the third quarter growth of around 20 per cent over the corresponding quarter in the previous fiscal.
Interim dividend
The Board of the company has also approved an interim dividend at 3250 per cent -- ₹65 per equity share (face value of ₹2 per equity share) for the financial year 2020-21.
Further, the Board has also declared a special interim dividend of ₹100 crore at 250 per cent -- ₹5 per equity share, to mark the achievement of historic milestone of achieving 100 million (10 crore) cumulative production of two-wheelers, taking the aggregate interim dividend declared to 3500 per cent -- ₹70 per equity share, it said.
Accordingly, the Board has fixed February 16 as the record date for determining entitlement of members to pay interim dividend. The payment of interim dividend/ dispatch of dividend warrants will be completed by March 6, Hero MotoCorp said.
On price increase
“Our performance in the third-quarter underlines Hero MotoCorp’s operational strength and ability to perform well despite a challenging and volatile environment. The company has been able to drive profitable growth through improvement in market shares, acceleration of Leap-II savings initiatives, continued control on overheads, and cash flow management," Niranjan Gupta, Chief Financial Officer, Hero MotoCorp, said.
"Going forward, we expect input costs to remain under pressure due to the rising prices of commodities and fuel. The price increase on our range of products that we undertook from January 1 will partially offset these cost pressures. We will continue to focus on driving cost savings, and take judicious price increases if and when necessary," he said.
With the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projecting a strong recovery in India’s economic growth rate in the fiscal year 2021-22, the company remains optimistic of personal mobility and consumer demand prospects, Gupta said.
"Hero MotoCorp is confident to make the most of this economic spur on the back of new launches of exciting products and our strong brand equity with customers across markets," he added.
At the beginning of the new year, Hero MotoCorp entered into a distribution agreement with Grupo Salinas, founded by Mexican entrepreneur Ricardo Salinas. Following the agreement, the two companies have come together to form one of the largest distribution networks globally to sell competitive, high-quality products in the large Mexican market, the company mentioned.
Hero MotoCorp’s shares closed at ₹3,440.65 apiece on the BSE on Thursday, up 1.66 per cent from the previous close.
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