Ashok Leyland posts Rs 6,250 crore revenue in Q1 FY2018, up 47%

Ashok Leyland, the country’s second biggest CV player, reported robust year-on-year growth of 47 percent in revenue at Rs 6,250 crore in Q1 FY2019. The company it sold 42,128 units including exports (MHCV: 30,647 and LCVs: 11,481) which translates to 51.14 percent growth in domestic sales and 22.34 percent in the export market.

The profit after tax (PAT) for Q1 FY2019 is Rs 370 crore, up 233 percent YoY, compared to Rs 111 crore reported for the same period last year. The company reported EBITDA at 10.4 percent compared to 7.2 percent (Rs 648 crore vs Rs 306 crore) during the first quarter.

Commenting on the result, Vinod K Dasari, managing director, Ashok Leyland said, “The total industry volume registered 84 percent growth, primarily driven by surge in infrastructure spend resulting in higher sale of tippers and MAVs. There was also the impact of the base effect. We continued our focus on profitable growth and tight control on working capital, in a market which operated on heavy discounting and credit push. Despite pressure on realisation and raw material price increases, I am happy that we continue to post growth with profitability.”

“We have grown significantly in Intermediate Commercial Vehicles (ICVs). The LCVs and Bus business have also posted very good growth. Exports have also grown by 24 percent. We will continue to pursue our strategy of de-risking the company from cyclicality even as we pursue superior returns,” added Dasari.

Gopal Mahadevan, CFO, Ashok Leyland, said: “We have seen a double-digit EBITDA margin for 13 of the 14 sequential quarters. Our net cash in the balance sheet is Rs 1,165 crore. Focus on operating costs, product mix and material cost optimisation will continue, even as we pursue growth.

The company recently had launched the ‘eN-Dhan’ fuel card, which it states will provide best-in-class savings in fuel costs to customers.