Mumbai: Auto component maker Bharat Forge today reported an over two-fold jump in standalone net profit at Rs 119 crore in the March quarter, driven by one-time gain of Rs 43.16 crore from sale of a land parcel. Net profit includes impairment charge of Rs 30.8 crore, which is non-cash in nature, taken on investments in domestic subsidiaries, the company said in a statement. Total revenue grew 38 per cent to Rs 931 crore, it said.
For the full fiscal, net profit rose 30.7 per cent to Rs 400 crore, while total revenue for FY14 logged 8 per cent growth to Rs 3,399 crore.
“Bharat Forge's performance in FY14 has been encouraging with robust operating leverage and cash flows despite sub- optimal utilisation levels caused by significant weakness in the domestic commercial vehicle segment,” Bharat Forge Chairman and MD Baba Kalyani said in the statement.
The uncertain demand environment which prevailed during FY'14 is beginning to change positively especially in the external markets, he said, adding, “We expect both North America and Europe to grow in FY'15. The domestic market might witness demand recovery in H2 of FY'15.” Kalyani said the Pune-based company bagged a series of orders from across segments and from new and existing geographies.
“Our investments in R&D delivering path breaking solutions to our marquee customers placing us at the forefront to capture demand revival,” he said.
Projecting a slightly higher demand in the current fiscal, Kalyani said, “We are witnessing strong momentum going into FY15 with topline growth expected to outpace the underlying market growth in all geographies driven by market share gains and new programmes coming on stream.”
