Bosch Ltd posts 7.2% sales growth in Q3 of FY17

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Bosch Limited, a leading supplier of technology and services, posted gross sales of Rs 2,811 crore in the third quarter of financial year 2016-17 which ended on December 31, registering a 7.2 percent increase over the same period in the previous fiscal.

The company’s profit before tax stood at Rs 299 crore, which constituted around 10.6 percent of its sales. Profit after tax (PAT) stood at Rs 215 crore, registering a decrease of 23.5 percent over the same period a year ago. The company said the decline in PAT was due to factors such as decreased domestic demand, front-ended CSR expenses, cost of restructuring and higher depreciation.

“India’s overall auto production in the country grew by 1.4 percent as compared to the previous year (PY). In this context, Bosch Limited grew by 7.2 percent as compared to PY,” said Soumitra Bhattacharya, managing director of Bosch Limited and president of Bosch Group in India.

“Growth was driven by good developments in the tractor and heavy commercial vehicle market segments. Sales were influenced by the Indian automotive market which was impacted by demonetisation in the last quarter, especially in December.”

Meanwhile, the company’s board of directors, in their meeting held on Friday, declared a special payout in the form of an interim dividend of Rs 75 per equity share of Rs 10 each. Shares of the company were trading at Rs 22,650 apiece on Friday afternoon, down by 1.51 percent compared to the previous day’s closing price of Rs 22,996.70.