Bajaj Auto Q4FY23 net profit falls 2.5% to Rs 1433 crore, yet beats estimates; revenue at Rs 8904.7 crore Bajaj Auto’s fiscal fourth quarter net profit was recorded at Rs 1433 crore, down 2.5 per cent as compared to Rs 1469 crore in the same quarter last year, beating estimates of analyst estimates. A CNBCTV18 poll had reported net profit for Bajaj Auto’s fourth quarter at Rs 1386 crore. The company’s revenue for the quarter ended March 2023 stood at Rs 8904.7 crore, up 12 per cent on-year as against Rs 7975 crore recorded in the same quarter the previous year. This was supported by the sustained momentum on the domestic business that delivered strong volume-led revenue growth. “Compared to the same time last year, better foreign exchange realization, judicious pricing and a richer product mix all helped offset the drop in overall volumes arising from sluggish exports,” the company said. Bajaj Auto’s EBITDA stood at Rs 1716.6 crore for the fourth quarter. However on a consolidated basis, Bajaj Auto recorded a net profit of Rs 1704.74 crore and the company’s revenue for the quarter stood at Rs 8929.23 crore. Bajaj Auto’s performance across segments The domestic motorcycle sales at Bajaj Auto continued to deliver well, buoyed by the strong performance of the Pulsar portfolio and further scale up in Platina 110 ABS volumes. Also, 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%) compared to ~45 per cent for the rest of the industry, the company said. Consolidated Bajaj Auto and Chetak Technology Limited sold a total of 8,59,728 vehicles in the fourth quarter, which includes domestic as well as export sales. This is down 12 per cent from 9,76,651 units it sold in the same quarter last year. While two-wheeler sales were down 16 per cent, CV sales were up 14 per cent on-year. The two-wheeler major expanded its exclusive store network that now stands at 105 dealerships and 42 experience centres across 84 cities. It plans to further scale up its presence, Bajaj Auto said.
Logistics, good or bad, are driven by the states and the commerce ministry has a LEADS (Logistics Ease Across Different States) report, based on perceptions. The 2023 version was released in December. Since states are heterogenous, in the reporting, they are divided into four groups—coastal, landlocked, north-east, and UTs. States that do well are called achievers. Nomenclature matters. Thus, states that are middling aren’t called average. They are called fast movers. States that are sub-par are called aspirers. Let me highlight coastal states, since 75% of export cargo is estimated to originate from them. Among coastal states, ones that do well are Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. The ones that lag are Goa, Odisha, and West Bengal. While India’s logistics performance may have improved over time, that’s not true of every state. Some have slipped. Most states have a state-level logistics policy, including Goa and Odisha. West Bengal, bottom of the pecking order in the coastal category, doesn’t have one. To quote from LEADS 2023, “Looking ahead, the State (West Bengal) could benefit from formulating a State Logistics Master Plan and State Logistics Policy to drive efficiency improvements and facilitate investments within the logistics sector and undertake consultation with the logistics stakeholders for educating and informing them about the initiatives State is undertaking for the development and improvement of logistics sector.”
Logistics has been talked about for a long time and India has also focused on improving performance. We are now getting some precise data on measurement and quantification. That helps.
Bibek Debroy, chairman, EAC-PM. Views are personal.