Bharat Forge's net profit falls 81% to Rs 78.72 crore in December quarter

Auto components major Bharat Forge Ltd on Tuesday reported an 81.35 per cent decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 78.72 crore in the third quarter ended December 2022, hit by higher expenses.

The company had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 422 crore in the same period last fiscal, Bharat Forge Ltd (BFL) said in a regulatory filing.

Consolidated revenue from operations during the quarter under review was at Rs 3,353.36 crore as against Rs 2,394.69 crore in the same period last fiscal, it added.

Total expenses in the October-December period this fiscal was at Rs 3,178.9 crore, up from Rs 2,093.39 crore in the year-ago quarter. Cost of raw materials and components consumed stood at Rs 1,543 crore in the third quarter as against Rs 1,082.45 crore in the same period a year ago, the company said.

BFL Chairman & Managing Director BN Kalyani said in the third quarter, the company's Indian operations secured new business worth Rs 265 crore across automotive and industrial applications.

"The overseas operations posted an EBITDA loss of Rs 62 crore due to ramp up related issues of the new Al (aluminium) forgings capacities in Germany and USA. They continue their journey towards profitability with focus on improving capacity utilisation, cost optimisation, price increases and cost compensation from customers," he added.

On the outlook, Kalyani said, "As we look ahead into Q4 FY23, we expect growth momentum to continue across both the domestic and export markets. Aiding the standalone performance, we expect the new verticals to start registering meaningful contribution at a consolidated level and EPS accretive in FY24.