Ashok Leyland’s Q4FY23 profit posted a jump of 436.6 per cent to Rs 752.53 crore as against Rs 140.24 crore in the same quarter last year, beating estimates. It posted revenue from operations at Rs 13,202.55 crore, up 33 per cent from Rs 9,926.97 crore in the fourth quarter of FY22. The company was expected to post profit for the fourth quarter at Rs 623 crore and revenue at Rs 11,863 crore. The Boards also recommended a dividend of Rs 2.60 per equity share of Re 1 each for the financial year ended March 31, 2023. “The said dividend, if approved at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting (‘AGM’), shall be paid on or before August 19, 2023,” the company said in a regulatory filing.
The company’s truck market share for Q4FY23 improved to 32.7 per cent as against 30.6 per cent in the fourth quarter of previous year. Bus market share for Q4 FY23 has improved to 27.1 per cent in comparison to 26.4 per cent for the same period last year. Ashok Leyland‘s domestic LCV volumes grew by 18 per cent in Q4 FY ’23 to 18840 numbers. “Despite geopolitical headwinds, on a full year basis our export volumes are at 11289 nos. which was higher than last year (11,014 nos.) by 2 per cent,” it said in a statement.
The performance, said Ashok Leyland, was backed by the successful AVTR range and the launch of the CNG range in ICVs. “The AVTR platform has been delivering best-in-class total cost of ownership across segments. In the LCV segment, both Dost and Bada Dost continue to perform very well,” it said. Going forward, last-mile connectivity demand propelled by e-commerce is likely to support LCV truck volumes. Ashok Leyland has also extended its widespread network by opening 152 new outlets across India.
“The CV industry is buoyant due to favourable macroeconomic factors and a healthy demand from the end-user industries. This trend is expected to continue alongside growth in core sectors such as construction & mining, agriculture, increased capital outlay for infrastructure projects and pent-up replacement demand,” said Dheeraj Hinduja, Executive Chairman, Ashok Leyland Limited. He added that the focus on international operations, defence, power solutions and parts businesses will continue to balance the volatility of the core business.
“It has been a truly wholesome performance. We have been able to achieve growth in market share, across geographies and across product segments, along with significant improvement in our profitability,” said Shenu Agarwal, Managing Director & CEO, Ashok Leyland Limited. He further added that the company has generated close to Rs 2,287 crore of cash this quarter owing to better profits and focused management of working capital.