Ashok Leyland reported a net loss of ₹19 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2020 mainly due to a one-time VRS cost of ₹85 crore. The CV major had reported a net profit of ₹28 crore in the year-ago period.

With the commercial vehicle segment on the recovery road, after the Covid-19 impact, the company posted revenues of ₹4,814 crore for the quarter against ₹4,016 crore in same period last year, according to a statement.

After eight continuous quarters of de-growth, the volume of the medium and heavy truck industry as a whole grew 16 per cent in Q3.

Truck volumes grow

Ashok Leyland’s truck volumes grew at almost twice the industry rate in the third quarter. Its domestic LCV volumes for Q3 stood at 15,991 units against 12,574 units, up 27 per cent. Exports volumes grew 24 per cent at 2,941 units ( 2,371 units).

Vipin Sondhi, MD & CEO, said: “We have seen a marked improvement in the company’s performance in this quarter. All our newly-launched products and innovative i-Gen6 (Mid-NOx) BS6 solution have proved their mettle across the markets. Our focus on controlling costs has paid dividends for us this quarter.”

The company reported an EBITDA of 5.3 per cent for the December 2020 quarter against 5.6 per cent in Q3 FY20.

It has also brought down net debt to ₹2,880 crore in Q3 from ₹3,076 crore in Q2 FY21.

“The performance for this quarter, which resulted in a positive EBITDA of 5.3 per cent, was made possible owing to the revenue enhancement and operational efficiency initiatives of the company during challenging times.

“The focus on resetting the operating cost to revenues and material cost optimisation will continue,” said Gopal Mahadevan, Director and CFO.

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