Country’s second largest manufacturer, Pune based Bajaj Auto, which till now was having a horrendous time with its sales for the past year, is on a roll and has posted the best quarter ever in its history till date. The net profit of the firm increased a whooping 118 percent to Rs 402.83 crore from Rs 184.91 crore it reported in the same period last year.
It is evident that the company’s strategy of focusing on performance oriented segment is paying very rich dividends. This quarter saw Bajaj achieve highest ever turn over, highest ever exports, highest ever operating profit and highest ever net profit. Exports during the period were 2,24,334 units which earned the company a revenue of Rs 799 crore as compared to the same quarter last year where Bajaj sold 2,06,930 units exported earning a revenue of Rs 714 crore.
Total sales during the quarter were 5,99,641 units up 7 percent in contrast to 5,61,477 units during the previous year. Total income also rose 15 percent to Rs. 2887.51 crore from Rs 2519.18 crore during quarter two of the last fiscal. Operating earnings before taxes, interest and depreciation were 22 percent against 13.6 percent last year which also surpassed the previous best of 19.5 percent in the first quarter of the last fiscal.
Mr. Kevin D’Sa, Vice-President, Finance, said that the good results were on account of the strategy to focus on the more profitable category of bigger and sportier bikes. The company will continue to build brands going forward which is a great sign for performance enthusiasts all over the country. Bajaj has identified Pulsar and Discover brands which would be the primary growth engines for the future. Recently launched 100cc Discover DTS-Si has already sold more than a lakh units in its first 50 days and cumulative sales to date are in excess of 1 lakh 60 thousand units which is a remarkable number for the company and a proof enough of the mistake Bajaj did leaving the most volume churning segment of the market nascent. Bajaj has decided to post 1 lakh unit sales for each brand (Pulsar and Discover) with Platina and XCD brands chipping in more to the tally by March 2010. However ambitious the figures may seem but looking at the roller coaster ride Bajaj is on, anything seems possible and achievable.
To bolster its image as a performance biking manufacturer Bajaj recently unveiled the most sought after 250cc bike in the world, the Kawasaki Ninja 250R which heralds a new beginning to performance biking in the country. This along with the launch of “the Fastest Indian” Pulsar 220 DTSi clearly depicts the company’s intentions. Forthcoming launches from the company are expected to target the performance seeking crowd in the market. Indications are that there is a new Pulsar on the cards within a few months along with one more premium segment bike and we might also see upgrades to some existing bikes as well. So everything seems set for Bajaj, let’s hope they continue to provide us bigger and better products with each passing quarter.
- Saad
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Bajaj is THE BEST…. A company dat dares to do what STILL sends a chill down d spine of companies lik HERO HONDA. And finally it is getting wat it deserves !! Our very own indigenous HAMARA BAJAJ !! I feel so proud of it…
And taking bout other bikes in line… A 25-26 bhp Pulsar 250 at 1- 1.2 lacs will just work wonders for bajaj… And dat upgrade to existing bikes thing, dont tel me we r getting performance upgrade for 220 dtsi like yamaha !!! Oh god… I can already feel d adrelanine rush !!!
What baja need 2 do :
1.> 26 bhp Pulsar 250 @ 1.2 lacs
2.> performance upgrade kit for P220 dtsi @ 20k
3> keep d good work up
There is no doubt that it is only because of Bajaj, we are seeing new and latest design bikes in the Indian market otherwise we would have been left with Hero Honda cd 100 or splendor and performance bikes would have been a dream for the Indians. Let our own Indian company grow to the world standard. Its Hamara Bajaj
Well done bajaj but do work on makin engines as smooth as honda.
Its the Discover and the Pulsars doing the trick for Bajaj.
Der is an inside news :
Bajaj R&D has a 550 cc race developed bike up and running ! Dont xpect it in d market, it just shows where bajaj has reached n wat it can do. Its totaly indegenous, no help frm kawasaki !
Launching a 300 cc wud b a piece of cake for bajaj !
Hamara bajaj ! Jai ho !
Good to see Bajaj going places and taking indian biking places along with it.. with KTM in it’s fold Bajaj is surely going to open some more doors for indian biking.
Hamara Bajaj is back with a big bang.
Bajaj auto does not believe in wasting money in making music video like tv ads which feature the indian cricket team and bollywood stars, Bajaj auto believes in putting money in its R&D
the latest bikes from Bajaj are the result of these hard work, they are smooth and can stand upto international standards
CHAK DE BAJAJ, CHAK DE INDIA
i like ma bajaj pulsar only coz of itz xtreme perfmnce.. i often go to long drive n m hvng trust on ma bike dat it cross over all d limits …my advice to d company z dat pls dont tie up wid kawasaki to create powerful machines as itz d tme v want a homely superbikeee
congrats but it is long time to go so keep it up still people have first preference for hero honda then bajaj so change the concept prevailing in minds of people.