Bharat Forge, part of the $3 billion (Rs 22,203 crore) Kalyani Group has announced its financial results for Q1 FY2021. The company reported revenue of Rs 427 crore, (-68%), and a loss of Rs 56.3 crore, compared to a profit of Rs 174 crore for the same period last year.

The company’s business has been impacted due to the Covid-19 pandemic, that has resulted in lower-than-expected sales, and just being operational for a month in the quarter.

Commenting on the results, Baba N Kalyani, chairman and MD, Bharat Forge said: “The quarter gone by was impacted by the Covid19 pandemic and the stringent measures adopted by countries to control the spread. The government imposed economic lockdown coupled with lower underlying demand had an adverse impact on sales. This has resulted in the company posting a loss of Rs 56 crore for the quarter. Despite being operational for only one month in the quarter and running at around 20% capacity utilisation, we were able to reduce breakeven levels through continued focus on cost reduction and improve productivity.”

“In these uncertain times and working within guidelines set by local authorities, we continue our steadfast focus on 4C’s: meeting customer demand, ensuring the safety & wellbeing of our colleagues, control on costs and working on the cost reduction initiatives already mapped out. Looking ahead in to demand for the coming quarter, we are witnessing marginal improvement in demand across both domestic and export markets. We expect our domestic revenues to be flat as compared to Q2 FY2020, while the exports will be lower than levels witnessed in Q2 FY2020. The sustainability in the recovery in underlying demand is a key factor to track in the coming months.”