Bosch reports 80.3% decline in Q4 net

Auto components major Bosch Ltd on Friday reported a whopping 80.3% drop in net profit at Rs 81 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2020 compared to Rs 412 crore reported in the corresponding quarter last year.

It also reported an 18.1% decline in total revenue from operations at Rs 2,237 crore during the fourth quarter ended March 2020 compared to Rs 2,723 crore reported in the corresponding quarter in 2019.

Profit Before Tax before exceptional items from continuing operations for the current quarter stood at Rs 361 crore, a 36.2% decline over the same period of previous year.

The decline is due to the reduced turnover following the market slowdown and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic during the last few days of the quarter. The PBT after exceptional items stood at Rs 64 crore which is a margin of 2.9% of total revenue from operations.

During the quarter, Bosch Limited has made an incremental provision of Rs 297 crore towards various restructuring, reskilling and transformational projects, said Soumitra Bhattacharya, Managing Director, Bosch Ltd.

“Bosch is adapting to the current market develoopments with measures to manage resources and enhance operational efficiencies. We will continue our investments in future business such as electrification, mobility services and revamping of our Adugodi campus as a technology hub,” Bhattacharya said.

Bosch Limited’s Mobility business sector declined by 24.4% in 2019-20, due to slowdown in the auto segment. Domestic sales declined by 25.9% and export sales declined by 6.1%. The Board of Directors recommended a dividend of Rs 105 per share (1,050%) for 2019-20.

Since 2017, Bosch has executed 79 BS-VI projects in Passenger Cars and Commercial Vehicles segments with major OEMs.Amid the crisis, Bosch in India will continue with critical investments in competence development as well as for solutions designed and developed in India and for India.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic impacting the company’s business, its capital expenditure for the current fiscal will come down by 40-50% compared to last year’s investment, he said.

He further added that the automobile industry will need at least 4-6 years to return to the sales levels seen in 2018.