(Reuters) -India’s Bajaj Auto posted a 21% rise in second-quarter adjusted profit on Wednesday, helped by higher domestic sales of its motorcycles.
The ‘Pulsar’ motorcycle maker reported a standalone adjusted profit of 22.16 billion rupees ($263.8 million) in the quarter, compared with 18.36 billion rupees a year earlier.
However, including a deferred tax liability of 2.11 billion rupees, Bajaj’s profit grew only 9% to 20.05 billion rupees. The tax liability was to account for a change in the way debt mutual funds will be taxed.
India had removed long-term tax benefits for debt mutual fund investments made after April 2023 in its budget last year. This year, the government retroactively removed the benefits for investments before April 2023 as well.
Two-wheeler manufacturers have benefited from a healthy monsoon that put more money in rural India’s regions, a key demographic for entry-level motorcycles like Bajaj’s ‘Platina 110’.
Meanwhile, urban customers bought premium motorcycles, boosting motorcycle makers’ margins. For Bajaj, this segment includes its 200cc-plus motorcycles such as the popular ‘Pulsar’ models.
The Pune-headquartered company’s domestic two-wheeler sales – which make up about 64% of its total for two-wheelers – jumped 26% to 6,36,801 units, according to company data.
This includes sales of its ‘Chetak’ brand of electric scooters that have expanded at an aggressive pace.
Its remaining two-wheeler sales comprise of exports, which grew 5.4%, following a gradual recovery in its African and South Asian markets.
That helped its total revenue grow 21.8% to 131.27 billion rupees. ($1 = 83.9940 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Varun Hebbalalu and Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Savio D’Souza)
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