Bosch Ltd. posted gross sales and income from operations of Rs. 2,738 crores in the second quarter of FY 2016-17, registering a 7.7 per cent increase over the same period of the previous year.
Profit before tax (PBT) from continuing operations stood at Rs. 590 crores or 21.6 per cent of sales, an increase of 9.6 per cent. For the same period, profit after tax (PAT) from continuing operations was Rs. 423 crores, an increase of 10.8 per cent over the same period of the previous year, standing at 15.4 per cent of sales. PAT improved due to higher sales volume, improved productivity and treasury income.
“Improved market sentiments, normal monsoon and the festive season have led to a strong quarter for the automotive market. For the quarter, Bosch Ltd. has registered a healthy growth in line with the market,” said Dr. Steffen Berns, Managing Director of Bosch Ltd. and President of the Bosch Group in India. “We continue to focus on operational efficiencies and productivity improvements. In addition, we have continued augmenting our engineering capacities and competencies to work on the BS6 projects. We feel well prepared for the future emission legislation with our products, experience and testing infrastructure facilities.”
Overall, the company’s Mobility Solutions businesses grew by 6.7 per cent in this period. The main contribution was from Gasoline Systems which posted a strong double-digit growth.
The business divisions of the sectors beyond mobility performed strongly and grew by 15.9 per cent. “The company has been focusing on offering integrated cross divisional solutions in the business sectors beyond mobility. The renewed focus to improve India’s infrastructure segment has helped business units such as Power Tools and Security System to grow strongly,” Dr. Berns added.
Bosch Ltd. successfully completed a buyback of 878,160 equity shares at a price of Rs. 23,000 per share. The number of shares bought back constituted 2.796 per cent of the pre-buyback equity share capital. Post-buyback share capital stands at 30,520,740 shares. Robert Bosch GmbH, the parent company, now holds 70.49 per cent of equity shares as against 71.18 per cent earlier.
Soumitra Bhattacharya to succeed Dr. Berns as MD
Mr. Soumitra Bhattacharya, currently the Joint Managing Director of Bosch Ltd., has been appointed Managing Director with effect from January 1, 2017.
Mr. Bhattacharya has worked in various capacities at Bosch Ltd. and abroad for the Bosch Group over the past 22 years. He will succeed Dr. Steffen Berns who completes his four-year term as Managing Director on December 31, 2016. He will return to Germany and take up a new position within the Bosch Group as President of the Bosch Car Multimedia Division.
Dr. Andreas Wolf, currently Executive Vice President responsible for manufacturing and quality, has been appointed Joint Managing Director of Bosch Ltd.