India Inc’s first disappointing quarterly result has come out. Bajaj Auto Ltd has reported a 6.98 per cent drop in its net profit at Rs 179.9 crore for the second quarter ended September 2004 as compared to Rs 193.4 crore in the corresponding period of the last fiscal.
The total turnover during the period under review was up at Rs 1,536.5 crore as against Rs 1,366.6 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal.
The net profit for the six months ended September was marginally lower at Rs 344.5 crore (Rs 354.4 crore in April-September 2003), while turnover for the period was up at Rs 2,869.1 crore (Rs 2,550.5 crore), the company said.
The company said 714 workmen opted for VRS in July 2004 accounting for a total outflow of Rs 49 crore, which would be charged equally over three quarters of the current fiscal. Accordingly, in this quarter a sum of Rs 16.3 crore has been charged.