The country’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer Hero MotoCorp (HMCL) has reported a net profit of ₹796 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, up 36 per cent from ₹583 crore in the corresponding period previous year.
Net sales also grew by more than 5 per cent during the quarter to ₹7,174 crore from ₹6,792 crore in the October-December quarter in 2014. EPS stood at ₹39.85 against ₹29.19.
The company’s other operating income in the quarter stood at ₹120.62 crore against ₹46.74 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.
Backed by its winning brands including Splendor, Passion, Glamour, HF Deluxe, Super Splendor and the recently introduced new scooters – Maestro Edge and Duet, the company reported sales of 16,90,354 units during the last quarter compared with 16,48,548 unit in corresponding quarter.
“We have successfully launched Maestro Edge and Duet scooters — the first of the products developed by our own in-house R&D team. Both these scooters have received positive response from the customers,” said Pawan Munjal, Chairman, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.
However, on the overall two-wheeler industry, Munjal said the market continues to be tough and the company expects the sentiments to remain subdued for the next couple of quarters.
“Demand in rural markets has been severely impacted due to two consecutive sub-normal monsoons. We may see a positive turnaround towards the second half of the next fiscal if we have a good monsoon and sentiments change in the rural market,” he added.
HMCL’s shares closed at ₹2,498.45 on the BSE on Thursday, down 1.92 per cent from the previous close.