Fast paced

Mumbai, July 15: Bajaj Auto’s net profit rose to Rs 266.01 crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal, which ended on June 30, against Rs 207.95 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year ? registering a 28 per cent growth.

This rise came on the back of a 33 per cent increase in its revenues to Rs 2,297.22 crore from Rs 1,726.93 crore in the same period last year.

During the reporting quarter, Bajaj Auto sold 6,47,094 vehicles, a 28 per cent rise over 5,05,524 in the first quarter of the last fiscal. While the sales of motorcycles stood at 5,68,187 compared with 422,543 in the previous year, that of three-wheelers stood at 70,875 against 53,311 a year ago.

Bajaj Auto said its motorcycle sales continue to outperform the rest of the industry. During the period, motorcycle sales grew 34 per cent compared with the industry growth of 24 per cent. Moreover, the company also gained in market share, which stood at 33 per cent, up from 31 per cent in 2005-06.

“Bajaj Auto continues to be the leader in the price segment with strongly positioned products, such as the Bajaj CT 100 and the Bajaj Platina together yielding a market share of 38 per cent. The new model ? Bajaj Platina ? launched in April 2006, has seen very good response. Sales have crossed 1,00,000 units in the third month after the launch,” the company said in a statement.

Indonesian JV

Bajaj Auto will set up a joint venture in Indonesia, for which it has got necessary approval from the Indonesian government, executive director of the company Sanjiv Bajaj said in Pune today.

The approval to set up the assembling unit, at a cost of $50 million, was received a month ago and the joint venture would be called Bajaj Auto Indonesia.