Bajaj Auto’s Q3 India sales up 28%, revenue at Rs 7,879 crore up 19%

Bajaj Auto is on a roll and how. The Pune-based two- and three-wheeler major today announced its Q3 FY2019 results – overall revenue of Rs 7,879 crore (+19%), EBITDA at Rs 1,290 crore (-3%), EBITDA margin (+17.2%), PAT of Rs 1,102 crore (+16%).

During the quarter (October-December 2018), the company saw robust growth in its two-wheeler business both in domestic as well as exports. The company sold a total of 1,078,384 units globally, marking YoY growth of 32 percent, which includes 644,093 units (38%) in the domestic market and 434,291 units in exports (23%).  Interestingly, in Q3, industry growth averaged around 11 percent.

This strong performance has helped Bajaj Auto increase its market share to 20.3 percent as against 18.6 percent in Q2 FY19 and 16.3 percent in Q3 FY2018.The motorcycle maker says these results have been helped by the company recording growth of 61 percent in the entry level motorcycle segment (industry average 38%), which helped it improve its market share to 37 percent in Q3 FY2019 as against 31.7 percent in the year-ago period. The CT100 (181,000 units) and Platina (195,000 units) were the top two models in the entry level segment, growing 77 percent and 38 percent respectively in the quarter.

In the sports segment, the company was able to maintain its stranglehold with 45.7 percent in Q3 FY2019 (Q3 FY18: 40.5%), with the Pulsar and the Avenger clocking over 227,000 unit sales (43% YoY). The Pulsar clocked its highest ever sales of 88,000 units in October 2018.

The sales from the Austria-based premium motorcyclemaker KTM further added to the overall robust growth for Bajaj Auto, which holds 47.99 percent stake in the company. During Q3 FY19' KTM sold a total of 54,412 units (+13%), which translated to a proportionate profit of Rs 120 crore for Bajaj Auto.

Three-wheelers continue their dominance
Bajaj Auto, which is the market leader in the three-wheeler CV segment, sold over 91,000 units in Q3 FY2019, grabbing around 55.2 percent of market share. According to the company, the RE brand has a market share of 85.6 percent in the small three-wheeler segment, while the Maxima brand has 36.3 percent in the big three-wheeler passenger carrier segment. In the goods carrier segment, the company witnessed a growth of over 15 percent in the quarter, compared to the industry growth of less than 5 percent, with the company's market share at 23.1 percent.

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The world's favourite Indian
On January 21, 2019, Bajaj Auto announced its new identity — The World's Favourite Indian — marking its transition towards a global motorcycle powerhouse. What's more, for the third straight quarter the quarterly exports volume surpassed the 500,000-unit mark, with the motorcycle segment leading the chart. In value terms, Bajaj Auto’s reported revenue from exports were $399 million (Rs 2,843 crore) in Q3 FY19 compared to $340 million (Rs 2,422 crore) in Q3 FY2018.

The company says it is already exporting its products to over 70 countries, and with two out of three bikes carrying a Bajaj badge, and forex earnings amounting to over $13 billion (Rs 92,612 crore) in the last 10 years. In 2018, the company sold over 2 million units in international markets, which contributes to around 40 percent of its total revenue.

Commenting on the results, Rajiv Bajaj, managing director, Bajaj Auto, said: "Our international performance is validation of our strategy of focus and differentiation. Our unwavering commitment towards building the best motorcycles in the world through design, technology, quality and customer satisfaction have made us a truly global brand. Bajaj brand is not only the world's favourite Indian, but also perhaps the most illustrious ambassador for Make in India initiative for the Indian government."