Bajaj Auto Q4 FY23: Net profit drops to Rs 1433 cr, dividend of Rs 140 per share announced

Bajaj Auto’s fourth-quarter standalone net profit for FY2023 dropped by 2.5 per cent to Rs 1,432.88 crore as compared to Rs 1,468.95 crore in the same quarter last year. The company’s revenue rose for the quarter ended March 2023 and stood at Rs 8,904.7 crore, which is 12 per cent more than Rs 7975 crore recorded in the same quarter the previous year. 

In Q3 FY23, Bajaj Auto posted a higher-than-expected third-quarter profit of Rs 1,491.42 crore up by 22.8 per cent year-on-year (YoY). However, revenue from operations was up merely 3 per cent YoY to Rs 9,315.14 crore. Further details are as follows: 

> At Rs 36,428 crores, Revenue from Operations was at its highest ever, growing 10 per cent YoY despite constrained supplies early on and particularly challenging overseas markets for the most part of the year. Spares revenue registered an all-time high.

> EBITDA maintained its strong run, growing 26 per cent YoY to Rs 1,718 crores, with margin accretion of +220 bps to 19.3 per cent. Sequentially across quarters, price realisation and material costs held flat with favourable mix driving the slight uptick. 

> Sustained momentum on the domestic front led to strong double-digit revenue growth, which more than made up for the setback in exports arising from sluggish markets. Domestic sales were up by 17 per cent YoY to 21,06,617 vehicles but exports dipped by a massive 27 per cent YoY to 18,21,240 vehicles in FY23.

> From April 2022 to March 2023, Bajaj Auto posted a total sales of 39,27,857 units, down by 9 per cent from 43,08,433 units in the same period of FY22. The two-wheelers sales are down by 10 per cent YoY to 34,42,839 vehicles in FY23, on the other hand, commercial vehicle sales are up by a meagre 3 per cent YoY to 4,85,018 units.

> The latest relaunch of Pulsar NS160 and NS200 with muscular styling along with launches earlier in the year continues to grab the attention of enthusiasts and is enabling the acceleration of our market share in the 125cc+ segment, the company said.

> Three-wheeler sales crossed the 100K units milestone for the first-time since the pandemic, reflecting the strong rebound to pre-Covid levels for Bajaj (>100 per cent) compared to ~45 per cent for the rest of the industry- also reflected in the new high on our market share.

In Q4 FY2023, the two-wheeler major also announced a dividend at the rate Rs 140 per share of face value of Rs 10 each on equity shares for the financial year ended March 31, 2023. "The dividend, if declared, shall be paid to the equity shareholders whose names appear on the Register of Members of the Company or in the records of the Depositories as beneficial owners of the shares as on Friday, 30 June 2023, which is the Record Date fixed for the purpose," the company said in its regulatory filing. 

Earlier, analysts had expected that Bajaj Auto's profit may jump 12.4 per cent y-o-y. Emkay Global said it expected Baja Auto's profit to jump 12.4 per cent YoY to Rs 1,378.50 crore on 5.1 per cent YoY rise in revenue at Rs 8,385 crore, with Ebitda margin expanding 196 basis points YoY to 19.1 per cent. Prabhudas Lilladher pegged its profit at Rs 1,356 crore, up 10.8 per cent. Sales, it said, may rise 4.3 per cent YoY to Rs 8,319 crore.

"Revenue to grow YoY, despite decline in volumes (down 12 per cent), owing to increase in realisations (up 20 per cent). Realisation to improve due to better mix (higher domestic 2W and 3W mix), price hikes and rupee depreciation. Ebitda margin to expand YoY due to price hikes, better mix and INR depreciation. On QoQ basis, Ebitda margin to remain unchanged as the impact of the price hike is negated by the adverse scale," Emkay said.

Earlier in the day, shares of Bajaj Auto hit a 52-week high for the fourth straight day on BSE. The stock has surged nearly 3 per cent to Rs 4,375 in the last four days.
 

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