Ashok Leyland reports over six-fold increase in PAT at Rs 377 cr in Q4

Hinduja group flagship Ashok Leyland has posted more than a six-fold increase in consolidated profit after tax (PAT) at Rs 377 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2021.

The commercial vehicle major had reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 58 crore in the January-March quarter of 2019-20.

Consolidated revenues during the fourth quarter of the last fiscal stood at Rs 8,142 crore, as compared to Rs 5,088 crore in the same period a year ago, Ashok Leyland said in a late-night statement on Thursday.

For the entire 2020-21 fiscal, the company's consolidated loss after tax stood at Rs 70 crore. The company had reported a PAT of Rs 460 crore in FY20.

Full year consolidated revenue stood at Rs 19,454 crore, as against Rs 21,951 crore in 2019-20.

The challenges in the market due to COVID-19 impacted the volumes and performance of the company and industry in the first half of FY 2020-21, however, the company and the industry saw healthy sequential recovery in the second half of FY 2020-21, post the gradual removal of the lockdown, the company said.

"We have seen a recovery in the fourth quarter of FY21 and the overall performance has been better. However, with the sudden onset of the second wave, the challenges for the industry continue. We are better prepared this time," Ashok Leyland MD & CEO Vipin Sondhi said.

With the country's GDP poised to grow at 9.5 per cent in FY22, it augurs well for the commercial vehicle industry, he added.

"At Ashok Leyland, we remain rock solid and resilient, driven by our Newgen products and a talented team. We are confident that we will come out stronger once demand picks up. This will help us deliver profitable growth," Sondhi said.

The company's board recommended a final dividend of 0.60 paise per share of Re 1 each for the financial year ended March 31, 2021.