Ashok Leyland Ltd.'s profit jumped eightfold in the first quarter, aided by higher sales and a deferred tax credit.
The commercial vehicle maker's net profit surged 747% year-on-year to Rs 576 crore in the April–June quarter, according to an exchange filing on Friday. The deferred tax credit of nearly Rs 159 crore pushed up the profit.
Ashok Leyland Q1 FY24 Highlights (YoY)
Revenue grew 13% to Rs 8,189 crore.
Operating profit rose 156% to Rs 821 crore.
Operating margin stood at 10% as against 4.4% last year.
Total sales rose 4.2% to 41,329 units, but fell 41% sequentially as anticipation of price hikes in April due to new emission norms led to pre-buying in the March quarter.
The company's market share in the medium and heavy commercial-vehicle category grew to 31.2% from 30.0% in the same period last year.
Tax expense for the quarter was lower as the company considered a one-time deferred tax credit of Rs 172 crore due to the expected transition to lower tax regime in the following financial year, it said.
"While we continue to expand our market penetration on the back of efficient products and expanding the network, we shall remain acutely focused on achieving and sustaining double-digit profitability," Chief Executive Officer Shenu Agarwal said.
Shares of Ashok Leyland are trading 3.59% higher at Rs 182 apiece after the results were announced, compared with a 1.03% decline in the benchmark NSE Nifty 50 at 12.06 pm.
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