Hero MotoCorp hikes prices by Rs 500-1500 across models

Two-wheeler market leader Hero MotoCorp on Friday said it has hiked prices ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 1,500 across all models with immediate effect.

The hike announcement comes after the company reported a 4.86 per cent decline in its net profit at Rs 574.23 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2013, its third successive fall in quarterly profits hit by a demand slump. It had registered a net profit of Rs 603.59 crore during the corresponding period last year, Hero MotoCorp said in a statement.

However, the company's net income during the fourth quarter of FY2012-13 went up by 1.84 per cent to Rs 6,145.75 crore from Rs 6,034.93 crore in the year-ago period, it added.

During the January-March, 2013 quarter, Hero sold a total of 15,27,351 two-wheelers, down 2.84 per cent from 15,72,027 units in the year-ago period.

For the entire 2012-13 financial year, Hero posted a fall of 10.93 per cent in its net profit at Rs 2,118.16 crore as against Rs 2,378.13 crore in the previous fiscal year, the statement said.

Total vehicle sales of the company during the last fiscal year too fell by 2.56 per cent to 60,75,583 units from 62,35,205 units in 2011-12. Its net income, however, rose marginally to Rs 23,768.11 crore in FY13 from Rs 23,579.03 crore in FY12.

In its meeting on Friday, the Board of the Directors recommended a dividend of 3,000 per cent, which is Rs 60 per equity share of Rs 2 each for the financial year 2012-13.

Commenting on the numbers, Pawan Munjal, managing director and CEO of Hero MotoCorp, said: "FY13 has been a rough year for the overall Indian auto sector. Weak macroeconomic sentiment, coupled with subdued consumer confidence adversely impacted the industrial growth and sales volumes."

Considering the current environment, the auto sector is having tough time in India and Hero MotoCorp is cautiously optimistic about the growth prospects in the near-term, he added.

Talking about the outlook, Mr Munjal said: "...having sold over 60 lakh two-wheelers in just 12 months, we have sustained our performance during the period.

"Being the industry leader, we have planned major initiatives to boost the industry sentiment and accelerate growth in the new financial year, mainly through new launches, campaigns, capacity addition and network expansion."

The company has also commenced dispatches to half a dozen new markets across the world in the last fiscal year and will add a few more to that tally soon, he added.