Ashok Leyland to shut down production for up to 12 days in December

Truck and bus maker Ashok Leyland on Wednesday said it will suspend manufacturing operations at some of its plants for up to 12 days in December. The non-working days will be observed in order to align its production with sales, the company said in a regulatory filing.

"We hereby inform that in order to align production in line with the market demand for our products, the company proposes to observe non-working days ranging from 2-12 days in few plants, during the month of December 2019," Ashok Leyland said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Reeling under severe slowdown in auto sector, the Chennai-headquartered commercial vehicle major has been cutting production since July this year. The firm had reduced its production as weak customer sentiment led by liquidity crunch, transition to Bharat Stage-VI emission norms and high product prices hit sales. In July, the company had shut its plant at Pantnagar for nine days, between July 16 and July 24. In August, the company observed non-working days for 10 days, followed by 5 to 18 days in September, 2 to 15 days in October, and up to 12 days in November at its various facilities.

Also Read: Ashok Leyland sales drop 22% in November

The Hinduja Group flagship firm reported a 22 per cent decline in sales at 10,175 units in November 2019, compared to 13,119 units sold in the same month last year. Total medium and heavy commercial vehicle (M&HCV) sales were down 36 per cent YoY to 5,321 units, while light commercial vehicle (LCV) sales slipped 4 per cent YoY to 4,209 units in November 2019.

The domestic sales fell 25 per cent year-on-year to 9,377 units during the month under review. The worst affected category was the high tonnage trucks. Domestic sales of the M&HCV (medium and heavy commercial vehicle) trucks plunged 54 per cent YoY at 3,676 units in November 2019, compared to 7,980 units sold in November 2018. Domestic light commercial vehicle (LCV) sales dropped 6 per cent to 4,056 units, as compared to 4,310 units in November 2018.

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In July-September quarter, Ashok Leyland reported a massive 92.6 percent decline in its net profit at Rs Rs 38.9 crore, compared to a net profit of Rs 527.7 crore in the year-ago period. Revenue from operations tumbled 48.4 per cent YoY to Rs 3,929.5 crore while volumes dropped 44 per cent YoY to 28,938 units in Q2FY20.

Ahead of the announcement, shares of Ashok Leyland closed Wednesday's trade at Rs 77.50 apiece, down 0.19 per cent, on the BSE.

Edited by Chitranjan Kumar