Eicher Motors reports marginal increase in quarterly profit

Eicher Motors, best known for its Royal Enfield motorcycles, posted a marginal 0.5% increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 462 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 2018 from Rs 459.4 crore in the year-ago period.

Total consolidated revenue rose 19.4% to Rs 2,612.96 crore from Rs 2,187.60 crore during this period because of record sales of its flagship product, the Royal Enfield, after it launched three new models of the motorcycle.

Royal Enfield sales jumped 27% to 226,907 units in the fourth quarter from 178,345 motorcycles in the same period last year.

“Royal Enfield had a phenomenal year on all fronts of its business. While we launched several relevant and differentiated variants, the highlight of the year was the unveiling of our first modern twin cylinder motorcycles—Interceptor 650 and the Continental GT 650,” said Siddhartha Lal, managing director and CEO, Eicher Motors.

“These motorcycles have created quite an excitement both in emerging as well as developed markets and we are confident that once launched, they will grow the middleweight segment globally.”

Eicher said it planned to strengthen its motorcycle portfolio to appeal to younger audiences. The Thunderbird X, for example, is specially designed for urban explorers with its alloy wheels, tubeless tyres, and lower handlebar.

The company will invest Rs 800 crore to expand its Royal Enfield operations in 2018-19 and will also expand its international operations with a wholly-owned subsidiary in Indonesia and Thailand. “In the international markets, Royal Enfield entered Argentina and opened the first exclusive store at Buenos Aires,” Lal said.

The results were announced after the market closed. Eicher’s shares closed 0.43% lower on the BSE at Rs 30,305.45.