Bosch net plunges 80% in Q4; 59% yearly

Bengaluru, May 22 (IANS) Leading automotive components maker Bosch Ltd on Friday reported Rs 80 crore consolidated net profit for the fourth quarter (Q4) of fiscal 2019-20, registering a whopping 80 per cent annual decline from Rs 412 crore in the same period a year ago.

Sequentially too, consolidated net profit for Q4 declined 57 per cent from Rs 190 crore a quarter (third) ago.

“The decline is due to the reduced turnover following the market slowdown and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic during the last few days of the quarter (Q4),” said the city-based company in a regulatory filing on the BSE.

For the fiscal 2019-20, consolidated net profit also declined 59 per cent annually to Rs 650 crore from Rs 1,598 crore in fiscal 2018-19.

In the filing, the German behemoth’s subsidiary said consolidated revenue from operations for the quarter under review (Q4) also declined 18 per cent annually to Rs 2,237 crore from Rs 2,730 crore in the like period a year ago and dipped 11 per cent sequentially from Rs 2,537 crore a quarter ago.

For the fiscal 2019-20, consolidated revenue declined 19 per cent annually to Rs 9,842 crore from Rs 12,085 crore in fiscal 2018-19.

The company has declared Rs 105 dividend per share of Rs 10 face value, which translates into a whopping 1,050 per cent for the fiscal under review.

“The financial figures reported are in-line with the downward trend in the automotive industry, which has been going through a challenging phase for some time and is now having to deal with the impact of Covid-19,” said the company in a statement here later.

Bosch India Managing Director Soumitra Bhattacharya admitted that the company had to prepare for a prolonged slowdown in the market for the new fiscal (2020-21) as well.

“Hence, it is important to stay connected with associates and customers and assess ground-level activities,” said Bhattacharya on the occasion.

The company has taken measures to gradually ramp up production, as per the directives of the central and state governments under the extended lockdown.

“We have provided Rs 717 crore in the last fiscal for restructuring, reskilling and redeployment initiatives,” said Bhattacharya.

The company invested Rs 299 crore during the fiscal in expanding its operations at its Adugodi and Bidadi plants in the city.

“As an automotive technology firm, with 80 per cent of revenue driven through mobility business, we have been affected severely by the slowdown in the sector,” reiterated Bhattacharya.

Welcoming the government’s Rs 20 lakh crore package to revive the sagging economy from the Covid-19 fallout, the top executive said the company was waiting to receive guidance on industry-specific stimulus package to support the auto sector.

The company’s blue chip scrip of Rs 10 face value gained Rs 188.05 per share to close at Rs 9,533.65 at the end of Friday’s trading on the BSE as against Thursday’s closing rate of Rs 9,345.60 and opening price of Rs 9,335.90. The share also touched a high of Rs 9,595.90 and low of Rs 9,290.60 in the intra-trading sessions during the day.

–IANS

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