Hinduja flagship Ashok Leyland reported a lower net loss of ₹282 crore for the quarter ended June 30, compared to a net loss of ₹389 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year, as the commercial vehicle industry recovers from the impact of the pandemic.
Its revenue grew to ₹2,951 crore against ₹651 crore in Q1 of the previous fiscal.
“The industry has seen signs of volume recovery in Q1 FY22 over the same period last year, and we expect this trend to continue going forward. We have worked to improve our businesses and ensured a strong focus on reining in costs this quarter,” said Vipin Sondhi, MD & CEO, Ashok Leyland.
While its total income stood at ₹2,964 crore, its total expenses were at ₹3,345 crore (including ₹2,233 crore raw material costs and services).
The company’s loss before exceptional items and tax stood at ₹381 crore against a loss of ₹548 crore in the year-ago quarter.
Volumes picking up
“With our volumes picking up on account of our versatile product offerings, our robust cost initiatives have helped us improve our bottom line. Revenue from our other businesses like power solutions, defence and digital customer solutions, have also contributed increasingly, improving our revenue potential. We will continue to nurture our growth businesses, while we keep our focus on cost initiatives and converting the receivables and inventory to cash,” said Gopal Mahadevan, Director & CFO, Ashok Leyland.
The company’s total domestic medium and heavy commercial vehicle volumes (including trucks and buses) stood at 7,860 units against 723 units, while LCV sales grew to 8,690 units from 2,686 units.
“We expect the commercial vehicles segment to outperform strongly on a low base and cyclical recovery in FY22,” said Mitul Shah, Head of Research, Reliance Securities.