Hyundai Q2 Profit Down 16% on Lower Sales: Creta EV Launch Expected

New Delhi, Nov 12 (PTI) Hyundai Motor India on Tuesday reported a 16 per cent year-on-year decline in consolidated profit after tax to Rs 1,375 crore for the second quarter ended in September 2024, hit by lower sales in the domestic market.

The automaker had reported a consolidated profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 1,628 crore in the July-September quarter of the last fiscal.

Announcing its first quarterly results after listing on stock exchanges, Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) reported a 7.5 per cent decline in revenue from operations to Rs 17,260 crore for the second quarter compared to Rs 18,660 crore in the year-ago period.

HMIL shares closed lower by 0.98 per cent at Rs 1,804.45 on BSE following its financial results. The shares of the company are still trading lower than its IPO price of Rs 1,960 per share. The company made its market debut on October 22 at the opening price of Rs 1,931 per share on BSE.

Hyundai Motor India said it has sold a total of 1,91,939 units of passenger vehicles during the September quarter.

This includes 1,49,639 units in the domestic market, with a strong contribution from the SUV segment, it added.

The export volume stood at 42,300 units, HMIL said. The automaker had sold a total of 2,09,777 units in the year ago period.

"During the second quarter, we had challenges on volumes due to the domestic and geopolitical factors impacting our margins," HMIL Managing Director Unsoo Kim said in a virtual press conference.

The Indian auto industry is cyclical in nature, and has its ups and downs, after the phenomenal growth in the last two-three years due to the pent up demand post-COVID, the current demand moderation is very natural, he added.

"However, in the mid to long term, we are confident of a sustained demand momentum in the industry, despite the current slowdown in the overall sales volume for the industry," Kim noted.

On exports, the company witnessed growth in almost all regions in the first half of the current financial year as compared to the second half of the last financial year, he noted.

The automaker fared well in regions like Africa and Latin America, but the Middle East continued to face headwinds due to the Red Sea crisis, Kim said.

"We will be closely monitoring the situation, and will also plan to mitigate the risk by focusing on other regions," he added. While the macro-economic environment is expected to remain challenging for the auto sector in the near term, the company plans to focus on its strength and do not want to lose out on any potential opportunity to improve volumes and the profitability, Kim said.

"We will be launching the Creta EV for the mass market in the coming months, and we expect it will be a game changer in the EV market," he said.

The construction activity at Pune plant is progressing in full swing, and the plant is expected to commence vehicle production by the third quarter of FY 2026, Kim said. Elaborating further, HMIL COO Tarun Garg said the passenger vehicle industry is expected to grow in low single digit this fiscal over a haigh base of last fiscal.

He noted that rural markets were performing better than the urban regions and the trend is likely to continue going ahead as well.

Garg noted that prevailing high interest rates and lack of pent-up demand in the market were some of the factors affecting the domestic market.

The company said that in the mid to long term, it expects a sustained demand momentum in the industry and will continue to focus on the quality of growth by maintaining an optimum balance between volume, market share and margins.

In the April-September period, the company said its PAT stood at Rs 2,865 crore compared to Rs 2,958 crore in the same period last fiscal.

Revenue from operations stood at Rs 34,605 crore in the first half of the current fiscal, a dip of 2 per cent as compared with Rs 35,283 crore in the same period last financial year.

The automaker said it sold a total of 3,83,994 units of passenger vehicles during the April-September period. This includes 2,99,094 units in the domestic market with a strong contribution from the SUV segment. The export volume stood at 84,900 units, HMIL stated. Shares of the company on Tuesday ended 0.98 per cent down at Rs 1,804.45 apiece on BSE.