Driven by higher revenue, the country’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer, Hero MotoCorp on Wednesday reported a consolidated net profit of ₹1,007.04 crore in the second quarter ended September 30, up 47.6 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) compared with ₹682.28 crore in the year-ago period.
Consolidated revenue grew 4 per cent YoY to ₹9,533.07 crore in the July-September quarter (₹9,158.23 crore), the company said.
The company sold 14.16 lakh units of motorcycles and scooters (14.28 lakh units) in Q2 FY24, a decline of around 1 per cent.
Total expenses were higher at ₹8,385.5 crore (₹8,292.25 crore).
Consumer confidence
“Supported by its relatively stronger macro‐economic fundamentals, India has continued to outperform most of the large global economies. A healthy festive demand across most categories and, specifically in the auto sector, has demonstrated the underlying propensity of the robustness of the market,” Niranjan Gupta, Chief Executive Officer, Hero MotoCorp, said.
The consumer confidence is coming back, which augurs well for the growth momentum moving forward, he said.
“The premium range of products, which have been launched across all key models, have been received by the customers very well. Our strong margin shape will help us even more in deploying necessary fuel behind growth priorities. The global macro headwinds may keep the playfield a bit uncertain, and navigating the same over the next few quarters will be important,” he said.
However, the medium-term outlook for India, in general, and the auto industry, in particular, appears quite encouraging, he added.
Volunteering for pay
Meanwhile, Hero MotoCorp also announced that its board has approved a 20 per cent reduction in the fixed salary of Chairman Pawan Munjal following his request.
“Earlier this year, Dr Pawan Munjal decided to separate the roles of the Chairman and CEO, and appoint a CEO for the company. Following this transition, he has now volunteered to reduce his fixed salary by 20 per cent. The same was approved by the Board of Directors at its meeting following the recommendations of the Nomination & Remuneration Committee. The updated remuneration of the Executive Chairman will be effective January 1, 2024,” it said.
According to the company’s annual report for 2022-23, Munjal’s remuneration was ₹99.55 crore during the fiscal. He continues as Executive Chairman and Whole-Time Director on the company’s board.
Shares of Hero MotoCorp closed at ₹3,092.20 apiece on the BSE on Wednesday, up 0.06 per cent.