Hero Honda on growth path, posts Rs 402 crore profit
India's largest two-wheeler manufacturer, Hero Honda posted a profit of Rs 402.2 crore during the quarter ended 31st March 2009. This figure represents a 35% increase over the Rs 298.7 crore in profits, which the company earned in the year-ago period.
Hero Honda's sales for the quarter stood at Rs 3,411.8 crore, a 22.34% increase over sales of Rs 2,788.65 crore which the company netted in Q4, FY 2007-08.
According to Hero Honda, a high percentage of its sales come from rural and semi-urban areas, where customers tend to buy vehicles on full cash down basis rather than opt for bank loans or finance schemes. Hence, sales haven't been severely affected by the ongoing credit crunch.
Hero Honda has also implemented significant cost-cutting measures, hence boosting profitability, and the company also benefited from tax savings due to the location of its newest factory near Haridwar, in Uttarakhand. Finally, the fact that steel and aluminium prices have come down also helped the company in lowering overall cost of production, increasing the company's profit margins in the process.
Hero Honda earned Rs 12,319.12 crore during 2008-09, a 19.2% growth over the year-ago figure. The company's net profit for FY 2008-09 stood at Rs 1,281.8 crore, a 32.4% increase over its profits in the previous financial year.
Between the 1st of April 2008 and the 31st of March this year, Hero Honda sold 3.7 million units (including domestic sales and exports), a 12% growth over sales in the year-ago period. The 12% growth is especially significant in light of the fact that the entire two-wheeler industry in India grew by only 3% in the same period.
[Via: indiaautomotive]
TVS Motor sales in March 2009
TVS Motor Company has reported a 4% increase in its sales for March this year, at 121,988 units, as against 117,045 units sold in March 2008. According to TVS, this increase in sales was primarily because of its scooters, which logged an impressive 44% growth in sales, at 22,975 units, as against 15,942 units in March last year.
TVS' motorcycle sales in March 2009 actually declined by 8.46%, at 55,754 units, as compared to 60,908 units in March 2008. Exports during March this year stood at 16,340 units as against 13,070 units in March last year - an increase of 25%.
Also, according to a press release issued by TVS Motors, the company's Chairman and MD, Venu Srinivasan has been elected President of CII for 2009-10. Srinivasan, who succeeds ICICI Bank Chairman K V Kamath, has earlier been President of ARAI and SIAM.
[Via: indiaautomotive]
Ultra Motor to amp up India operations
UK-based electric two-wheeler manufacturer, Ultra Motor is planning to scale up its operations in a big way. The company is working on new model launches - up to six new two-wheelers this year - and is also looking at increasing the number of its dealerships in the country to 300, up from the current 170, over the next 12 months.
Ultra Motor, which is aiming for sales of up to 55,000 units in 2009-10, is also considering the possibility of setting up a new assembly plant near Gurgaon, which may be operational by mid-2010. Last year, the company had announced it would invest about Rs 150 crore towards expansion activity in India and the new plant would be a part of that.
The market for electric bikes and scooters in India is expected to grow in a big way over the next 3-5 years. Another major player - Hero Electric - is also looking at a sales growth of 75% in the next fiscal, for which the target is 70,000 units. The company is also working on expanding its dealer network to as many as 360 outlets, up from the current 100.
However, the current generation of electric scooters are bikes - which are extremely low on power (top speed in most cases is barely 25km/h!) and have a rather limited range - are likely to have a presence only in the entry-level segment. Until much more powerful electric bikes, with longer-lasting lithium-ion batteries, make an appearance, electric bike manufacturers are likely to remain niche players.
[Via: indiaautomotive]
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