Revenue from operations jumped 32.95% year on year to Rs 11,625.67 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2023.

Profit before exceptional items and tax in Q4 FY23 was at Rs 1,068.08 crore, up 102.14% as against Rs 528.39 crore posted in Q4 FY22. Exceptional items stood at Rs 56.43 crore during the quarter.

Total expenses spiked 28.6% YoY to Rs 10,596.51 crore in Q4 FY23. Cost of materials and services consumed was at Rs 8,080.23 crore (up 25.67% YoY) while employee benefits expense stood at Rs 591.93 crore (up 35.27%).

EBITDA margin improved to 11% in the fourth quarter of FY23 as against 8.9% recorded in the corresponding quarter previous year.

Ashok Leyland's truck market share for Q4 FY23 has improved to 32.7% as compared to 30.6% in Q4 FY22. Bus market share for Q4 FY23 has increased to 27.1% as against 26.4% for the same period last year.

The company's domestic light commercial vehicle (LCV) volumes grew by 18% in Q4 FY23 to 18,840 units from 15,971 units recorded in Q4 FY22.

Cash generated during the quarter was Rs 2,287 crore and net cash surplus was 243 crore as against a net debt of Rs 720 crore for the same period last year.

For the full year, the commercial vehicle manufacturer's net profit zoomed 154.7% to Rs 1,380.11 crore on 66.65% jump in revenue to Rs 36,144.14 crore in FY23 over FY22.

Despite geopolitical headwinds, on a full year basis the firm's export volumes were at 11,289 units, registering a growth of 2% from 11,014 units registered in FY22.

Ashok Leyland said, “This performance was backed by the successful AVTR range and the launch of the CNG range in ICVs. The AVTR platform has been delivering best-in-class total cost of ownership across segments. In the LCV segment, both Dost and Bada Dost continues to perform very well. Going forward, last-mile connectivity demand propelled bye-commerce is likely to support LCV truck volumes. The company has also extended its widespread network by opening 152 new outlets across the country.”

Dheeraj Hinduja, executive chairman, Ashok Leyland, said, "The CV industry is buoyant due to favourable macroeconomic factors and a healthy demand from the end-user industries. This trend is expected to continue alongside growth in core sectors such as construction & mining, agriculture, increased capital outlay for infrastructure projects and pent-up replacement demand. The focus on international operations, defence, power solutions and parts businesses will continue to balance the volatility of our core business. With momentum gradually picking up in electric vehicfes, Switch Mobifity is well poised to complement the developments at Ashok Leyland across a spectrum of alternate propulsion systems.

Shenu Agarwal, managing director & CEO, Ashok Leyland, commented, “We have been able to achieve growth in market share, across geographies and across product segments, along with significant improvement in our profitability. While we shall continue to pursue better realisations even as we expand market share, our resolute focus shall remain on bringing deeper efficiency and cost improvement. We have generated close to Rs 2,287 crore of cash this quarter owing to better profits and focused management of working capital, which gives us ability to further accelerate our investment in future products and technologies.”

Meanwhile, the company's board has recommended a dividend of Rs 2.60 per equity share for FY23 to the shareholders for approval. The said dividend, if approved at the forthcoming AGM, shall be paid on or before 19 August 2023.

Ashok Leyland is engaged in manufacture and sale of a wide range of commercial vehicles. The company also manufactures engines for industrial and marine applications, forgings and castings.

Shares of Ashok Leyland were up 0.30% to Rs 152.60 on the BSE.