Piaggio Vehicles, the Indian arm of the Italian automaker Piaggio & C SpA, recorded 55% year-on-year jump in its net profit at Rs 345 crore in 2018-19 on the back of higher demand for scooters and three-wheelers.
Piaggio’s net profit in FY18 stood at Rs 223 crore, according to the documents available with the ministry of corporate affairs.
Operating revenues rose 25% y-o-y to Rs 3,740 crore as the company’s domestic two-wheeler and three-wheeler sales increased 14% y-o-y and 11% y-o-y in FY19.
While Piaggio sold 77,775 scooters under the brand names Vespa and Aprilia during FY19, its three-wheeler category products, comprising both passenger and goods carriers, clocked 169,970 units in domestic sales.
The automaker’s two-wheeler exports more than doubled to 20,562 units for the year ended March 2019, while the three-wheeler dispatches to the overseas market rose 61% y-o-y to 39,420 units.
Piaggio also sells commercial vehicles in the domestic market; its domestic sales were down 27% y-o-y to 1592 units in FY19. Piaggio is planning to invest at least Rs 200 crore in three years on product development, including the launch of a fully electric three-wheeler. According to Diego Graffi, managing director, the company will also revamp its transporter and freighter portfolio with an aim to grow in the alternative fuel segment.
