Reflecting the continuing pain in the economy, commercial vehicle and light commercial vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leyland Ltd has posted decline in sales in both the segments during July this year compared to the corresponding month during last year.
In percentage terms, the small commercial vehicle (SCV) model ‘Dost’ has seen a higher fall than the heavier commercial vehicle showing that even the small business segment that relies on smaller vehicles with a payload of 1.25 tonnes has not escaped the impact of economic slowdown.
Ashok Leyland, in its communication to the stock exchanges, stated that its commercial vehicle sales during July 2013 fell 10 per cent to 6,259 units compared with 6,982 units in July 2012.
Sales of Dost declined 12 per cent to 2,480 units against 2,803 units in July last year. The total sales declined 11 per cent to 8,739 vehicles (9,785 units).
For the April-July period this year, the total sales of commercial vehicles was 21,159 units against 27,221 units in the same period last year, marking a fall of 22 per cent.
SCV sales
SCV sales took a 7 per cent knock — it declined to 9,304 units during this period compared to 10,051 units last year. The total sales fell 18 per cent to 30,463 vehicles (37,272).
Ashok Leyland shares hit a new 52-week low of Rs 12.55 on the NSE this morning before pulling back to Rs 12.70, a loss of Re 0.05. The stock has been steadily on the decline after touching a yearly high of Rs 29 (share face value Re 1) on December 6, 2012.