According to available figures, the company sold just 2,179 units in March 2020 against 21,535 units a year ago.

Hit hard by a marked decline in volume sales, Hinduja group flagship Ashok Leyland has reported a loss of Rs 57 crore in the quarter ended March 31, 2020, compared to a profit fo Rs 653 crore a year ago.

However, the company ended with a profit after tax of Rs 240 crore for the fiscal ended March 2020 compared to Rs 1,983 crore in the previous fiscal.

According to available figures, the company sold just 2,179 units in March 2020 against 21,535 units a year ago. Ashok Leyland’s March quarter sales fell 57% year-on-year (y-o-y) to 25,504 units against 59,521 units sold during Q4FY19, while its FY20 sales were at 1,25,253 units, down 37% y-o-y.

Ashok Leyland has reported a sharp fall in its FY20 revenues to Rs 17,467 crore compared to `29,055 crore in the previous fiscal. Ebitda was at 6.7%. PBT for the year was at Rs 362 crore (Rs 2,497 crore).

For Q4 FY20, revenue took a major hit and was at Rs 3,838 crore against Rs 8,846 crore for the same quarter in the previous fiscal. The loss before tax for the quarter was at Rs 72 crore (profit of Rs 806 crore) and loss after tax was at Rs 57 crore (profit of Rs 653 crore). Ebitda for Q4 was at 4.8% (11.1%), the company said in a filing with the stock exchanges on late Thursday.

Vipin Sondhi, MD & CEO, Ashok Leyland , said, “This has been a challenging year for the industry, which witnessed a significant decline in volumes (42%).

Consequently, Ashok Leyland also saw a reduction in volume. Despite the drop in the volumes, we have been able to achieve an Ebitda of 6.7%. owing to the pan-company efforts to drive profitability. Despite the challenging times we continued our legacy of introducing new and innovative technology in the industry. The unique Modular Business Platform ‘AVTR’, gives our customers the flexibility to choose vehicles as per their requirements.”

Gopal Mahadevan, whole-time director and chief financial officer, Ashok Leyland, said, “We continue our productivity and cost reduction programmes started earlier in the year. These initiatives have helped us achieve a sizeable reduction in costs. We are also focusing on improving cash flows and conserving resources for future growth initiatives.”