Bosch Q4 standalone net down 1.51% at Rs 434 cr

Leading supplier of technology and services Bosch on Tuesday posted 1.51% decline in its standalone net profit for the fourth quarter at Rs 433.78 crore compared with Rs 440.47 crore in the same quarter last year.

The company's consolidated profit before exceptional items and tax for the whole year stood at Rs 2,134 crore, a 1.9% increase compared to the previous fiscal of Rs 2,094 crore on account of higher sales volume, which is offset by change in product mix.

Speaking about the performance in FY18, Bosch Limited Managing Director Soumitra Bhattacharya said the government increased maximum amount of gratuity payment to an employee from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh and that the company has provided for an additional amount towards one time past service cost, which has been disclosed as an exceptional item for the quarter and financial year ended March 31, 2018.

He also said that the total revenue from operations stood at Rs 11,690 crore in the past one year, registering 12% increase over the previous year.

"Bosch's domestic sales have been growing steadily as India's automobile sector shows promising growth in the future," he added.

The auto component major's mobility division grew 15% in the last fiscal against the automobile market growth of 10.8%, and in the last fiscal, the company's capex stood at Rs 460 crore.

Bhattacharya said the company will continuously invest and develop its manufacturing locations. In the last fiscal, it made major investment towards the development of new products and at facilities of Bosch Limited in Bidadi and Nashik.

Future ready

Bhattacharya said the company is creating an ecosystem and preparing for future and becoming future-ready before its customers want. The Adugodi campus now houses 3,000 software engineers, and both hardware and software engineers will work together. "A lot of work will be done on IoT from here," he added.

Bosch is aiming for further growth in 2018, despite the difficult economic climate.

The board of directors recommended a dividend of Rs 100 per equity share of Rs 10 each, for the financial year ended March 31, 2018.

Shares of Bosch closed 3.51% up at Rs 18,240 on the BSE.