by NR INDRAN

Mumbai : Hero Honda Motors Ltd (HHML), the World No.1 two-wheeler manufacturer for 10 consecutive years, continued its growth run in the Q1 (April-June) of Financial Year 2011-12 (FY’12) by reporting record performance.

HHML sold over five lakh units of two-wheelers in each month of the first quarter (April, May & June), thus demonstrating the company’s sustained top line performance and further strengthening its market leadership.

Riding on cumulative unit sales of 15,29,577 two-wheelers during Q1 – its highest sales for any quarter ever – Hero Honda’s total turnover (Net Sales & Other Operating income) for Q1, FY’12 grew to Rs. 5683.33 crores, a growth of 32 per cent over Rs 4296.61 crores recorded in the corresponding period last fiscal. The company reported profit after tax (PAT) of Rs. 557.89 crores and operating margin of 10.17% in the quarter. The company’s PAT in the corresponding period in the previous fiscal was Rs 491.69 crores.

Bolstered by new launches – the new Glamour, Glamour FI, and the refreshed Karizma and ZMR – Hero Honda notched up sales of 517,099 units in April, 5,00,234 units in May and 512,244 units in June, thereby clocking five lakh-plus sales in each month of the quarter for the first time.

Dr. Brijmohan Lall, Chairman, Hero Honda Motors Ltd, said “There is a growth culture engraved in the foundations of Hero Honda and we are excited that the company is taking new strides to strengthen this. And all our stakeholders are playing a constructive role in our growth story – be it our customers, suppliers, dealers or our employees and our other associates. We thank them for their relentless support and for contributing to the company’s continued leadership in the two-wheeler industry.

Mr. Pawan Munjal, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Hero Honda Motors Ltd said, “The numbers of Q1’12 is in keeping with the exponential growth that Hero Honda has been reporting for the past several years. Our Q1 performance has set the outlook for coming quarters, and we are confident of achieving our initial guidance for FY’12 to sell over six million units. Our strategic initiatives of developing a new brand identity for the company, exploring international opportunities, enhancing R&D capabilities and finalization of the fourth plant to feed the ever-growing market demand are pacing ahead. However, on an immediate basis, the thrust is on to maintain operational excellence in light of the volatile costs of commodities such as steel, aluminum and rubber.

“We will also carry on strengthening our product portfolio through new launches, network expansion and other customer outreach initiatives. We have already covered over 100,000 villages across the country as part of our rural initiatives under our rural vision “Har Gaaon Har Aangan”. We are also aggressively expanding our distribution network, and we will soon be crossing 5000 customer touch points by the end of the year. All these initiatives will continue to drive growth for us in the domestic market even as we explore markets around the world, notably in Latin America, Africa and South East Asia,” he added.

Hero Honda recently launched a stylish new Glamour and Glamour FI to further enhance its offering in the deluxe segment. A perfect combination of style and technology, the new Glamour and Glamour FI, come loaded with new features significantly adding to their aesthetic appeal. In keeping with its new-age styling in the deluxe segment, the Glamour family now boasts of an even more stylish, cooler and sportier look. The company had earlier also introduced the new refreshed Karizma and the ZMR.

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