Ashok Leyland’s fourth quarter net profit dipped 42 per cent (year-on -ear) to Rs 150 crore (Rs 258 crore). Total income decreased 14 per cent to Rs 3,728 crore (Rs 4,329 crore).
Vinod K. Dasari, Managing Director, attributed this to a fall in volumes, due to the overall slump in the market.
During the quarter, the company sold 23,602 medium and heavy commercial vehicles (including exports), down from 30,776 units the previous corresponding quarter. The light commercial vehicle Dost, however, bucked the trend with steady sales (12,000 units).
Ashok Leyland Ltd has recommended a dividend of 60 paise per share of the face value of Re 1 each (60 per cent).
For the financial year 2012-13, net profit fell 23.4 per cent to Rs 433 crore (Rs 566 crore). Total income dropped 3.3 per cent to Rs 12,481 crore (Rs 12,904 crore). This is despite an exceptional income of Rs 290 crore, from sale of long-term investments in Indus Ind Bank. The profit before exceptional item was Rs 181 crore.
Financial expenses during the year grew 48 per cent to Rs 377 crore (Rs 255 crore) due to higher working capital levels.
Domestic sales of medium and heavy commercial vehicles dropped 10 per cent to 70,917 units during the year. International business too suffered, especially in Sri Lanka.
Though the overall M&HCV segment volumes fell by 25 per cent, Ashok Leyland gained a market share of three per cent in 2012-13, said Dasari.
Commenting on the heavy discounting in the market, Dasari said the company will resort to lower discounting this year as it is not possible to make profits otherwise.
This year, Ashok Leyland has planned a capex of Rs 600 crore, substantially lower from Rs 1,000 crore last year.
The launches planned for this year are the A truck (8-15 tonnes), N truck (16-49 tonnes), CNG version of Dost, passenger vehicle Stile and the light commercial vehicle Partner.