Bajaj Auto profit rises marginally in Q1

Mumbai: Bajaj Auto Ltd on Thursday said its net profit in the April-June quarter rose marginally by 0.31% to Rs.739.98 crore from Rs.737.68 crore in the corresponding period of 2013. Net sales for the quarter were up 6.75% from a year ago to Rs.5,133.37 crore. A Bloomberg poll of 36 analysts estimated profit of Rs.823 crore and net sales of Rs.5,226 crore for the quarter. In the June quarter, the company sold 988,430 units, up 0.93% compared with the same quarter last year. Total expenses for the quarter rose 8.59% to Rs.4,396.48 crore from Rs.4,048.77 crore last year. At 11.56am, Bajaj Auto Ltd shares were down 1.8% to Rs.2,101 on BSE, while India’s benchmark Sensex fell 0.2% to 25,499.60 points.