JK Tyre
“It was indeed a challenging quarter for the auto industry with depressed demand, particularly by the OEMs, which impacted demand for tyres. In face of this, the company has recorded an improved profitability during the quarter as compared to the corresponding period. This was possible due to deeper penetration in the market place, particularly in truck/bus radials, despite the overall slowdown. The stable raw material prices during the quarter helped in containing costs.
JK Tyre’s pioneering efforts in introducing truck/bus radials in India and educating customers have paid rich dividends. By now, 4.5 million JK truck/busradial tyres are already on Indian roads, which is yet another landmark. Additional radial tyre capacities recently created, both for truck/bus as well as passenger vehicle tyres will further cement JK Tyre’s radial leadership position.”
– Dr Raghupati Singhania, Vice Chairman & Managing Director
Atul Auto
“Atul Auto has performed much better than expected and we are really delighted with our rate of the growth. We look forward top penetrate into more markets this year and manufacture on par with our expanded capacity of 48,000 vehicles from 24,000 vehicles. In spite of the slowdown in the automobile industry, Atul Auto has done well and is likely to continue the good run in the future as well.”
– Mr. Vijay Kedia, Director
Bosch Ltd.
Bosch Ltd. registered a growth of 6.4 per cent to Rs. 8,511 crores from net sales and income from operations for the year ended December 31, 2012. The growth of the company was below the previous year’s figure because of the weak automotive market and global economic slowdown. Exports were at Rs. 940 crores, a decline of 9.1 per cent over 2011.
Profit before tax (PBT) was still at Rs. 1,346 crores at 15.8 per cent on sales, however declined by 385 basis points compared to previous year. Profit after tax (PAT) stood at Rs. 958 crores or 11.3 per cent on sales. The decline in profits was caused by higher material costs due to unfavorable exchange rates, a higher depreciation on account of a higher capital base and employee costs. Cost reduction measures started early in the year helped to retain profits.
Announcing the company’s financial results, Dr. Steffen Berns, Managing Director, Bosch Ltd., said: “The economic downtrend continued into the fourth quarter. The overall automotive production increased marginally and the heavy/medium commercial vehicle and tractor segments, which contribute significantly to our business, declined sharply. Exports too declined due to the euro zone crisis. Despite these challenges, Bosch Ltd. was still able to achieve 6.4 per cent growth over 2011. The main contributors were the Starter Motors and Generators division, Automotive Aftermarket as well as the non-automotive business. We are approaching 2013 with cautious optimism and with tight cost control until we see clear signs of improvement. We are convinced of the strong growth perspectives of the Indian market in the mid- and long-term and therefore continue our investments into new technology and capacity expansion for the future.”
IndianOil
“IndianOil’s product sales volumes including exports rose by 0.419 million tonnes to 19.706 million tonnes during the third quarter of FY 2012-13 as compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year. The quarterly refining throughput went up marginally by 0.042 million tonnes to 14.208 million tonnes as compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year. The throughput of the Corporation’s countrywide pipelines network went up by 1.111 million tonnes to 19.471 million tonnes as compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year.”
– Mr. R. S. Butola, Chairman, IndianOil
CEAT
For the third quarter ended December 31, 2012, CEAT Ltd. has, on a standalone basis, reported a revenue growth of 14 per cent year-on-year at Rs. 1,194.6 crores. EBITDA for the quarter stood at 8.5 per cent compared to 6.3 per cent in the second quarter. The consolidated EBITDA margin stood at 8.9 per cent compared to 6.3 per cent in the second quarter.
Mr. Anant Goenka, Managing Director, CEAT Ltd., said: “Q3 has been positive for CEAT with improved sales volumes and falling key raw material prices. Overall there is a 15% increase in volume spread across the segments. For the first time, at CEAT, we crossed sales of 5 lakh motorcycle tyres per month in October, November and December. We also launched our UVR Ad Campaign, which was well received by consumers, and we have been able to convey the brand message to the target audience very strongly. Going forward, we expect margins to be stable on account of soft to stable rubber price. We will continue to focus on improving our product mix and operational efficiencies”.
Apollo Tyres
Apollo Tyres Ltd.’s consolidated revenue for the nine months of 2012-13 grew to nine per cent to reach net sales of Rs. 97.57 billion (Rs. 9,757 crores). In the same period, profitability increased by 86 per cent. Profitability for the third quarter of 2012-13 saw a jump of 84 per cent.
Commenting on the results, Mr. Onkar S. Kanwar, Chairman, Apollo Tyres Ltd., said: “The dynamics in our largest market – India – have not been easy. Europe and South Africa too are facing their own economic issues. In India, the commercial vehicle segment has been affected the most, while the other sectors have not remained unscathed. While we expect the passenger vehicle segment to recover in the next two quarters, commercial vehicle sales will take more time to normalise. Having said that, our continued focus on improving the product and customer mix across geographies has helped us better our profitability. I believe that the worst is behind us, and we should see improvement in both automotive and tyre sales from the beginning of the new fiscal.”
Rane Holdings
Rane Holdings Ltd., the investment arm of the Rane Group of companies specialising in auto components, registered a consolidated sales & operating income of Rs. 476.73 crores for the quarter ended December 31, 2012, as against Rs. 461.10 crores for the same quarter of the previous year.