NEW DELHI: On the back of a recovery in commercial vehicle sales prior to the second Covid-19 wave, Hinduja Group flagship Ashok Leyland (ALL) on Friday reported a 6.5-fold jump in profit for the quarter ended March 2021. The company’s profit during the period was Rs 377 crore compared to Rs 58 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year.
Consolidated revenue of the Chennai-based automaker improved by 60 per cent to Rs 8,142 crore and its Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was up by 44 per cent year-on-year at Rs 1,013 crore. However, for the entire 2020-21 fiscal year, the company reported a consolidated loss of Rs 70 crore against a Profit After Tax (PAT) of Rs 460 crore in FY20.
Vipin Sondhi, MD & CEO, ALL said, “We have seen recovery in Q4 FY21 and the overall performance has been better. However, with the sudden onset of the 2nd wave, the challenges for the industry continues. We are better prepared this time. With India’s GDP poised to grow at 9.5% in FY’22, it augurs well for the CV industry.”
According to the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA), commercial vehicle retail sales dived to 17,500 units in May 2021 from 51,500 units in April. Ratings agency Crisil, in a recent report, said that the second wave and subsequent restrictions may limit CV sales growth to 23-28 per cent in FY 2021-22, compared to earlier estimates of a 32-37 per cent increase. Going forward, ALL said it sees good opportunities to continue to grow in its exports, defence, power solutions, LCV (light commercial vehicle) and parts businesses.