Mumbai, July 22: Two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto today rewarded shareholders with a 1:1 bonus even as it unveiled robust numbers for the first quarter ended June 30.

Net profit rose 101 per cent to Rs 590 crore from Rs 293 crore in the year-ago period.

The stock leapt 3.15 per cent, or Rs 76.10, to close at Rs 2,490.20 on the Bombay Stock Exchange today.

Bajaj Auto is the second two-wheeler firm after TVS Motor to declare a bonus issue.

Turnover grew 68 per cent to Rs 3,972 crore from Rs 2,362 crore a year ago. Sales were higher by 70 per cent at 9,28,336 units against 5,47,662 units a year earlier.

The company said the period witnessed a marked increase in the cost of raw materials and components. Material costs, as a percentage to operating income, rose to 71.1 per cent in the first quarter from 66.2 per cent last year.

Motorcycle sales grew 72 per cent. Domestic motorcycle sales rose 71 per cent to 5,66,121 units against the industry growth of 24 per cent. The company’s overall market share in motorcycles improved to 33 per cent from 30 per cent a year ago. Motorcycle exports grew 72 per cent to 262,270 units.

Some brokerages were, however, disappointed with the margins. “Bajaj Auto’s first-quarter profits meet our expectations but fall short on quality. The firm reported higher margin contraction because of a hike in raw material prices,” Vineet Hetamasaria and Nikhil Deshpande, analysts at PINC Research, said in a note.

Brokerage Prabhudas Lilladher said the hike in raw material costs by 190 basis points sequentially, coupled with a 70-basis-point increase in employee expenses, have led to a 290-basis-point sequential decline in margins at 20 per cent.