Ashok Leyland Q1 net profit jumps to Rs 576 crore

Hinduja Group flagship Ashok Leyland on Friday said its net profit on a year-on-year basis jumped over eightfold to Rs 576 crore in the June quarter of this fiscal.

The Chennai-based commercial vehicle maker had reported a net profit of Rs 68 crore in Q1FY23, as per a company statement.

Revenue for the quarter stood at Rs 8,189 crore, as against Rs 7,223 crore in the first quarter of the previous fiscal.

The company's domestic medium and heavy commercial vehicles (MHCV) volume grew 7 per cent during the quarter under review and the market share grew to 31.2 per cent from 30 per cent, Ashok Leyland said.

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The domestic light commercial vehicles volume in Q1 FY'24 stood at 14,821 units, registering a growth of three per cent over 14,384 units a year ago, the company said.

"With the industry maintaining the growth in Q1 FY '24, we have been able to post excellent results with focused market performance while reining in costs. We have continued to grow our market share in Q1," said Dheeraj Hinduja, Executive Chairman, Ashok Leyland.

The company is concurrently intensifying its efforts in international expansion, he said, adding, "through our electric vehicle subsidiary, Switch Mobility, we are actively moving towards net zero carbon mobility."

According to the company, EBITDA grew 10 per cent to Rs 821 crore for the reporting quarter, as against 4.4 per cent (Rs 320 crore) in the year-ago period.

Tax expense for the quarter was lower as it considers a one-time deferred tax credit of Rs 172 crore on account of expected transition to lower tax regime in the following financial year, the company said.

The net debt-to-equity stood at 0.2 times at the end of Q1FY24, Ashok Leyland said.

"With expansion in revenues and efficient cost management, we have seen our bottom line improving substantially.

"While we continue to expand our market penetration on the back of efficient products and expanding the network, we shall remain acutely focused on achieving and sustaining double-digit profitability," said Shenu Agarwal, Managing Director and CEO at Ashok Leyland.