Ashok Leyland Ltd.'s net profit rose in the third quarter of fiscal 2024 as profitability improved.
The commercial vehicle maker's consolidated net profit increased 61% to Rs 580 crore, according to an exchange filing on Monday.
Ashok Leyland Q3 FY24 Highlights (Standalone, YoY)
Revenue rose 3% to Rs 9,273 crore.
Ebitda increased 40% to Rs 1,114 crore.
Ebitda margin stood at 12% versus 8.8%.
As sales volumes were muted in the quarter, the surge in profit can be attributed to a significant improvement in margins, which expanded 320 basis points, as compared with the same period last year.
The higher profitability was led by lower commodity costs. Cost of raw materials, as a percentage of sales, fell to 70.7% from 79.8% last year.
The company's sales fell 0.7% year-on-year to 47,241 units in the quarter. The revenue from operations rose merely 3% on higher selling prices.
"The current quarter saw the confluence of good volumes, better price realisation, and higher cost savings, thus helping us achieve better profitability," Shenu Agarwal, chief executive officer at Ashok Leyland, said in a statement.
Agarwal said the company will "relentlessly pursue" improvement in profitability through new differentiated products, deeper focus on cost optimisation, and continued discipline on pricing.
The commercial vehicle maker's debt stood at Rs 1,747 crore at the end of the quarter, with debt-to-equity ratio at 0.2 times, as compared with 0.3 times at the end of the previous quarter.
Shares of Ashok Leyland ended 3.02% higher at Rs 179.20 apiece before the results were announced, as against a 0.38% fall in the benchmark Nifty 50.
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