Hero MotoCorp Q2 profit slips 10% to Rs 884 crore, revenue from operations down 17%

Hero MotoCorp, the world's largest two-wheeler manufacturer, on Wednesday reported 10 per cent year-on-year decline in its consolidated net profit at Rs 883.78 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2019.

"The auto major had posted a net profit of Rs 981.99 crore in the same quarter last year," Hero MotoCorp said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Hero MotoCorp's revenue from operations fell by 16.71 per cent to Rs 7,571crore in Q2FY20 versus Rs 9,091crore in Q2FY19.

The Earnings before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) margin for the quarter stood at 14.5 per cent, the company said.

The other income of the company dipped by 22.12 per cent to Rs 164.56 crore as against Rs 211.31 crore in the year ago fiscal.

Consolidated revenue and PAT for the half year ended September 2019 stood at Rs 15,847 crore and Rs 2140 crore, respectively.

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"Our retail sales during the ongoing festive season have been quite steady so far, thanks to the new motorcycles and scooters that we have launched recently, and our slew of innovative schemes for customers. We hope to keep the momentum during the upcoming Dhanteras and Diwali festivals," the company said.

Hero MotoCorp launched five new products -including three new premium motorcycles and two scooters -in the first five months of the financial year, at a time when companies were holding back new product launches and investments. "The initial market response to these products -the XPulse twins and the Xtreme 200S motorcycles and the Maestro Edge 125 Fl -India's first scooter with Fuel Injection technology -and the Pleasure+ 110 scooter -has been quite encouraging," the company said.

''Growth of the industry is driven by first time customers. We have therefore, aggressively pursued this segment of customers through various innovative financing options, both in terms of affordability and convenience. This has helped us to expand our customer base during the ongoing festive season," said Niranjan Gupta, Chief Financial Officer, Hero MotoCorp.

"We are also gearing up for the market launch of our first BS-VJ motorcycle soon after the festive season, which will mark the commencement of the sequential transition to our BS-VJ range over the next few months," Gupta added.

Ahead of Q2 results, shares of Hero MotoCorp closed trade at Rs 2,712.25 apiece, up 1.45 per cent, on the BSE on Wednesday.

Edited by Chitranjan Kumar