Weak bike sales drag India`s Bajaj Auto to Q2 revenue miss
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India's Bajaj Auto on Wednesday reported its slowest second-quarter revenue growth in three years and missed estimates as price hikes failed to offset a dip in overall sales volume.
Bajaj's total revenue from operations rose 5.6% to 107.77 billion rupees ($1.29 billion) for the three months to Sept. 30, which was lower than analysts' expectations of 109.08 billion rupees, according to LSEG data.
The maker of the "Pulsar" range of bikes is the first to report results among India's two-wheeler makers in a quarter that saw sales drop amid a weak sentiment in rural India, which accounts for 55% of the total two-wheeler sales.
Experts have also attributed the weak sales to a high base in 2022, steep borrowing rates and inflationary pressures.
Bajaj's overall sales volume slid 8%, with two-wheeler volumes falling 13% during the quarter.
Meanwhile, profit rose 20% to 18.36 billion rupees, topping analyst estimates, on the back of better sales of margin-boosting three-wheelers and premium motorcycles.
Analysts, on average, expected Bajaj's profit to come in at 17.68 billion rupees.
The company's shares closed 0.1% lower at 5,137.35 rupees ahead of the results.
