Hero Honda posts 88 pc net profit growth

Hero Honda, which became the world’s largest motorcycle selling company recently, has announced a final dividend of 350 per cent and a ...

Hero Honda, which became the world’s largest motorcycle selling company recently, has announced a final dividend of 350 per cent and a celebration dividend of 250 per cent for the year ended March 2002 on the back of an 88 per cent jump in net profit to Rs 462.93 crore from Rs 246.87 crore in 2000-01.

The total dividend for 2001-02, after taking into account the 250 per cent special interim dividend announced earlier, comes to 850 per cent which translates into Rs 17 per share on the face value of Rs 2 per share.

Turnover also went up by 42 per cent to Rs 4,593.49 crore from Rs 3,191.14 crore in the year-on-year period The dividend for the year will entail a total payout of Rs 340 crore. During the last fiscal, Hero Honda generated a cash surplus of over Rs 500 crore, after the dividend payout. For the quarter ended March 31, 2002, the company’s net profit rose by a whopping 171.84 per cent at Rs 152.56 crore over Rs 56.12 crore in the year-ago quarter.

Story continues below this ad

Turnover for the last quarter rose 49.54 per cent to Rs 1,285.69 crore from Rs 859.74 crore in 2000-01, chairman and managing director Brijmohan Lall Munjal told reporters after a company board meeting here on Saturday.

Hero Honda sold 1.42 million units during 2001-02, a 38.4 per cent growth over 1.02 million units a year ago. Munjal also said that the company plans to manufacture 1.8 million units this fiscal and launch four motorcycles over the next two years.

Honda senior managing director and CEO for regional operations, Katsuro Suzuki told The Indian Express that a joint committee of Hero Honda and Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India is working together to decide the future models.

which Honda’s joint venture will launch.

Responding to a query, Munjal said that “we are looking at launching scooters in 2004, but a final decision will be taken later.” Hero Honda’s volume sales during January-March 2002 quarter grew 45.31 per cent to 3.99 lakh motorcycles from 2.74 lakh units in the year-ago period.
Story continues below this ad

Boosted by the impressive performance, Munjal announced that a special discount of Rs 1,001 would be offered on any Hero Honda motorcycle purchased after April 1, 2002.

This fiscal the company has targeted to achieve a 26 per cent growth in motorcycle sales at 1.8 million units and boost its marketshare in the domestic two-wheeler industry by two per cent from last year’s 33 per cent, newly-appointed managing director Pawan Kant Munjal said.

Hero Honda had a 48 per cent marketshare in the motorcycle segment and a 33 per cent in the domestic two-wheeler industry during fiscal 2002, he added.

Besides, Akio Kazusa has joined the company as the new joint managing director and Motohide Sudo as director with effect from April 1, 2002 in place of Matsuo Yamasaki and T Fujisaki respectively.
Story continues below this ad

“We will be launching four new motorcycles in the next two years. This year, two new models will be launched. The first one will have an engine capacity between the 100cc Splendor and 156cc CBZ models. The other will have a higher engine capacity than CBZ,” Munjal said.

He said feasibility study for a third plant was on and that the company was scouting for sites all over the country. The company plans to invest Rs 70 crore to Rs 250 crore on the new plant. The Munjals-promoted Hero group and Japan’s Honda Motor Co own 26 per cent equity stake each in Hero Honda.

15 killed, 16 missing in Uttarakhand after cloudburst triggers landslides, floods

India32 min ago

A cloudburst in Dehradun and nearby districts of Uttarakhand has caused significant damage and claimed 15 lives, with 16 still missing. The Disaster Management Authority has retrieved 13 bodies in Dehradun and one each in Pithoragarh and Nainital. Rescue operations are ongoing, and the estimated damage is over Rs 10 crore.

View all shorts

Live Blog