Hero MotoCorp Q3 profit rises 51% to Rs 1,073 crore on strong festive demand

Hero MotoCorp Q3: Hero MotoCorp, the country's largest motorcycle maker, reported 51 per cent rise in third-quarter profit on Friday on the back of strong two-wheeler sales during the festive season.

Hero MotoCorp's standalone profit after tax rose came in at Rs 1,073 crore in December quarter from Rs 711 crore during the same period last year.

Analysts at LSEG were expecting the Gurugram-based company to report net profit of Rs 1,042 crore.

Hero MotoCorp's revenue from operations registered a growth of 21 per cent hitting Rs 9,274 crore as against Rs 8,031 crore in the year ago period.

Its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) also known as operating profit jumped 47 per cent to Rs 1,362.02 crore and its operating profit margin improved 250 basis points to 14.01 per cent.

The festive season, which usually begins in September, was delayed to October-November in 2023, driving Hero's total domestic sales up more than 17 per cent to about 14 lakh units in the quarter.

The company also benefited from demand for its premium motorcycles, such as the X440 which it makes under a partnership with Harley Davidson and caters to the affluent.

The company announced dividend of Rs 100 per share to mark centennial year of Chairman Emeritus Dr. Brijmohan Lall Munjal.

The company announced plan of investment of up to Rs 600 crore over a period of two years, for setting up a Global Parts Centre (GPC) 2.0 with a storage capacity of up to 36,700 Stock Keeping Units (SKUs), at Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh.

Hero MotoCorp shares ended 2 per cent higher at Rs 4,908 ahead of earnings announcement.

(With Reuters inputs)