Hit by market forces and external factors, the country’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer, Hero MotoCorp, on Friday reported a net profit of ₹730 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31 — 24 per cent lower than ₹967 crore recorded in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

The total income during the period declined by 8 per cent YoY to ₹8,049 crore ( ₹8,730 crore).

“The fourth quarter of fiscal year 2018-19 was a difficult period that saw the two-wheeler industry contract significantly in the face of external factors,” Pawan Munjal, Chairman, Hero MotoCorp, said in a company release.

The EBIDTA margin for the quarter stood at around 14 per cent, the company said.

Sales decline

During the quarter, the company sold 17,81,160 units of two-wheelers compared to 20,01,595 units during January-March last year.

For the full year (2018-19), the company reported a net profit of ₹3,385 crore, compared to ₹3,697 crore logged during 2017-18. The revenue from operations for the fiscal year stood at ₹33,650 crore — up 2 per cent from ₹32,872 in 2017-18.

“The current fiscal is expected to be yet another challenging year in view of the upcoming stringent emission norms of BS VI. In the interest of the society at large and for the safety of future generations, Hero MotoCorp remains committed to preserving the highest of environmental standards, and is accordingly gearing up to launch its range of BS VI-compliant motorcycles and scooters well before the given timeline,” Pawan Munjal, Chairman, said.

While the near-term prospect of the domestic two-wheeler market is likely to remain challenging, the festive season is expected to brighten the sentiment and revive growth in the second half of this financial year, he added.

Dividend

Meanwhile, the board of directors has recommended a dividend of ₹32 per equity share of ₹2 each for the fiscal year 2018-19.

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