Chennai, January 31: Commercial vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leyland has closed its third quarter ended Dec 31 with a net profit of Rs.104.63 crore on a turnover of Rs.1,815.53 crore as against Rs.18.86 crore profit and Rs.1,004.49 crore turnover posted during the corresponding period the previous year.
According to a company statement Sunday, sales volume for the quarter showed an increase of 101 percent at 16,129 units (8,011 units) and parts sales rose by 91 percent.
Ashok Leyland said the improvement in profitability should be viewed at the backdrop of near collapse situation that prevailed during the corresponding period the previous year.
Despite an increase in production volume at 19,411 units as against 6,060 units the previous year’s third quarter, financial expenses went down to Rs.16.21 crore during the period under review from Rs.39.4 crore spent the corresponding period the previous year.
The company attributes that to the shift to cash sales and reduction in inventory levels.
For the nine months ended December 2009, even with a 10 percent drop in sales revenue at Rs.4,305.67 crore against Rs.4,762.95 crore during the corresponding period the previous year, net profit showed an improvement of 47 percent at Rs.201.01 crore.
“This quarter signals the return to normalcy. The common theme in the results is the improved profitability even though sales volume recovery is not quite complete,” said R. Seshasayee, the managing director.
“Out of the near 5,100 vehicle orders that we had bagged from various state transport undertakings under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), the company has delivered more than 2,000 buses by end-December 2009. We hope to deliver most of the balance vehicles before March,” he added.
–IANS