Hero MotoCorp shares rise over 1% on strong Q4, dividend bounty

Shares of Hero MotoCorp climbed over 1% in opening trade on Friday as investors cheered the auto major’s robust March quarter results and dividend declaration. The world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters has declared a final dividend of 1,750% aggregating to ₹35 per share, on equity shares of the face value of ₹2 each for the financial year 2022-23. This dividend together with the interim dividend of ₹65 per equity share, takes the total dividend for FY23 to ₹100 per equity share.

Hero MotoCorp shares opened higher at ₹2,542, up 1.1% against the previous closing price of ₹2,514.05 on the BSE. In the first hour of trade so far, the auto heavyweight gained as much as 1.26% to ₹2,546.50, while the market capitalisation increased to ₹50,704 crore.

The share price of auto major trades 13% lower than its 52-week high of ₹2,939.35 touched on August 18, 2022, while it has risen more than 13% against its 52-week low of ₹2,246.75 hit on March 28, 2023. The largecap stock has climbed over 1% in a year, while it fell over 3% in the six-month period. In the calendar year 2023, the counter lost nearly 7%, while it rose over 4% in a month.

For the January-March period of 2023 (Q4 FY23), Hero MotoCorp posted a standalone net profit of ₹859 crore, registering a year-on-year (YoY) growth of 37% over ₹627 crore in a year ago period.

The revenue from operations rose 12% to ₹8,307 crore as compared to ₹7,421 crore in the same period last year, it said in a regulatory filing.

On the operating front, EBITDA (Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation) climbed 30.9% to ₹1,083 crore from ₹827.6 crore in the year-ago period. Margins expanded to 13% from 11.2% in the corresponding period last year, supported by lower commodity costs, higher savings, and price increases.

During the quarter under review, the sales stood at 12.70 lakh units in the fourth quarter, up 7% from 11.89 lakh units in the same period of previous fiscal.

On the consolidated basis, profit rose 31% YoY to ₹811 crore, while revenue stood at ₹8,434 crore, a growth of 13% over previous year

For the full financial year 2023, the company reported 18% growth in profit at ₹2,911 crore, whereas revenue from operations climbed 16% over the previous year to ₹33,806 crore. The EBITDA for FY23 was at ₹3,986 crore, registering a growth of 18% over the last fiscal.

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