Ashok Leyland Q2 Results: Revenue Dips On Lacklustre Sales, Profit Surges On Exceptional Gain

Ashok Leyland Ltd. net profit rose on an exceptional gain and revenue fell during the July-September 2024 quarter as the commercial-vehicle industry remained in the throes of cyclicality.

Standalone net profit of the truckmaker rose 37% over the year-ago period to Rs 770 crore in the three months ended Sept. 30, even as revenue fell 9% to Rs 8,769 crore, according to an exchange filing on Friday. Analysts polled by Bloomberg had estimated the top line at Rs 9,041 crore and the bottom line at Rs 589 crore.

• Revenue down 9% at Rs 8,769 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 9,041 crore).

• Ebitda down 5.8% at Rs 1,017 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 1,002 crore).

• Ebitda margin expands 39 basis points to 11.6% (Bloomberg estimate: 11.10%).

• Net profit up 37.3% at Rs 770 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 589 crore).

One basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.

The board of the company has recommended an interim dividend of Rs 2 per share of face value Re 1 apiece.

The net profit figure includes an exceptional gain of Rs 117.38 crore during the fiscal second quarter. Without that, the bottom line would come in at Rs 653 crore, up 16.4% year-on-year.

The quarterly performance came on the back of a sales decline for India's largest busmaker. The company sold 25,685 medium heavy commercial vehicles in July-September as against 29,947 such units in the year-ago period. In the light commercial vehicles segment, unit sales fell to 16,629 versus 16,998 a year ago.

Still, the Ashok Leyland management remain hopeful of a fruitful second half.

"We remain optimistic about industry prospects for second half on the back of strong macroeconomic fundamentals, supported by resumption of government spending in capex and good monsoons," said Executive Chairman Dheeraj Hinduja in a media statement. "We continue to invest in new products with alternative fuels. Switch (Ashok Leyland's EV unit) is doing well with an order book of nearly 2,000 buses."