Image Source: HINDUSTAN TIMES

Agencies

Two- and three-wheeler manufacturer Bajaj Auto on Wednesday reported a 53 percent fall in its standalone profit for the quarter ended June at ?528 crores as compared to ?1,126 crores in the corresponding period of last fiscal.

Resultant to the Covid-19 lockdown and other measures, revenue from operations recorded a decline of 60 percent to ?3,079 crores in Q1 FY21 from ?7,756 crores in Q1 FY20, the company said in a statement.

With a sharp drop in revenue from operations, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) dropped to ?441 crores from ?1,250 crores in the same period despite strict cost control measures.

"Fixed cost spends were controlled across all plants and locations. In addition, marketing and advertisement spends were also curtailed. For Q1 FY21, the EBITDA margin was 14.3 percent," said Bajaj Auto.

While the operating profit was reduced to ?376 crores from ?1,189 crores, the profit before tax got slashed to ?682 crores in Q1 FY21 from ?1,579 crores in the same period of previous fiscal.

As on June 30, surplus cash and cash equivalents stood at ?14,232 crore as against ?14,322 crores last year, said Chief Financial Officer Soumen Ray.

In volume terms, the company sold 4.43 lakh units in Q1 FY21 as against 12.47 units in the year-ago period.

"Q1 has been an extremely challenging quarter due to the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic. Lockdown and other containment and precautionary measures have resulted in disrupted supply lines and a sharp decline in overall demand," the company said.