Bajaj Auto Limited's profit for the first quarter of the current financial year (April - June 2018) grew by 20.7 per cent to Rs. 1,152 crore. The Indian motorcycle and three-wheeler manufacturer had posted net profit of Rs. 924 crore in the same period a year ago. Bajaj Auto reported a turnover of Rs. 7,824 crore, the highest ever in a single quarter, and overall volumes were also the highest ever, with 12,26,641 units in the first quarter of the financial year 2018-19.
Motorcycle volumes in the domestic market surged 39 per cent in the quarter with 5,94,234 despatches, compared to 4,26,562 units in the same quarter a year ago. Exports of Bajaj motorcycles also grew by 25 per cent, with 4,35,730 units exported in the April-June, 2018 period, compared to 3,49,152 unit exports a year ago in the same period. Overall motorcycle sales grew by 33 per cent to 10,29,964 units in the first quarter, compared to 7,75,714 units in the same period a year ago. Overall market share in the domestic motorcycle market grew by 16.3 per cent, with the entry level motorcycles showing significant sales growth.
(The Bajaj Pulsar 150 is one of the largest selling 150 cc motorcycles)
Bajaj Auto's entry-level commuter motorcycles grew by 74 per cent in the first quarter. The Bajaj CT100 continues to be a bestseller, growing 76 per cent in sales with over 1,90,000 unit sales. The Bajaj Platina motorcycles sold over 1,04,000 units in the same period, a growth of 35 per cent. The Bajaj Pulsar, along with the Bajaj Avenger models, sold over 2,23,000 units, a growth of 47 per cent over the same period a year ago.
In the export markets, Nigeria continues to be the biggest export market, with volumes more than doubling to 1,19,000 motorcycles and commercial vehicles, from 46,000 units in the same quarter a year ago. Sales to Egypt also demonstrated more than double growth, from 19,000 motorcycles and commercial vehicles in the first quarter of the last financial year to over 1,19,000 units in Q1 of 2018-19. In Cambodia, Iraq and Ghana, Bajaj Auto's exports collectively witnessed robust growth from just 1,900 units in the first quarter of the last financial year to over 10,000 units in the April-June, 2018 quarter.
