Bajaj Auto says export market recovering, amends dividend distribution policy
NEW DELHI: Bajaj Auto Ltd (BAL), the country’s largest exporter of two-wheelers, on Wednesday said that its total export volumes in the quarter ending September (Q2FY24) grew 8% sequentially and is making a gradual recovery amid volatile market conditions.
“Market share holds steady with volume uptick in Africa, LATAM and SAME allowing for a slight build back of inventory in select markets; actions continue unabated to navigate currency constraints and challenging macros in overseas markets,” said the Pune-based automaker while releasing its September quarter numbers.
In the first half of FY24, Bajaj Auto’s total export (two-wheelers and commercial vehicles) was down 23% year-on-year(YoY) to 8,02,248 units. In Q2FY24, the decline came down to 9% to 416,397 units. Two-wheeler export volume was down only 5% YoY in the September quarter to 376,263 units while CV volume was down 32% to 40,134 units. In the domestic market, total sales for Bajaj Auro fell 8% in the September quarter to 637,556 units. BAL reported a 20% rise in net profit for the September quarter at `1,836 crore. Its revenue from operations increased 5.6% to `10,777 crore.
The company also announced amending its dividend distribution policy. BAL said if they will have a surplus fund of more than Rs 15,000 crore at the end of the financial year, the ‘Overall payout to shareholders’ (% of standalone profit after tax), would be over 70%. If the surplus fund is between `7,500 crore to Rs 15,000 crore, the payout would be up to 70% and if the surplus fund is less than `7,500 crore,
the payout would be up to 50%.
Bajajin its result said that it sustained strong cash generation as as over Rs 3,600 crores of free cash flow was added in the first half of FY24, 1.6 times higher than H1FY23. The company claims to have a robust balance sheet with surplus funds at Rs 17,326 crore as of September 30, 2023, after a dividend distribution of Rs 4,000 crore during the quarter.