"Bosch Limited registered overall moderate growth in the second quarter of the current financial year. Our business divisions in the Mobility Solutions sector as well as our divisions beyond Mobility Solutions developed equally well," said Dr. Steffen Berns, managing director of Bosch Limited. "Strong operating profit was driven by measures initiated in the last two years such as effective deployment of human resources and improving operational efficiency, which have continued to yield good results," Dr. Berns added.

Quarterly Performance

For the second quarter ended September 2015, the company's margins witnessed 30 bps drop. Raw material cost including purchase of stocks increased 50 bps to 53.15%. The employee cost (as a % of sales, net of stock) decreased 10 bps to 13.6%. Other expense (as a % of sales, net of stock) increased by 12 bps to 16.1%. OPM during the quarter fell to 17.3% (against 17.6%) leading to a 3% rise in operating profit to Rs 452.23 crore.

With 23% drop in other income at Rs 93.2 crore, PBIDT fell 2% to Rs 545.53 crore. With a mere Rs 1.81 lakh interest expenses and 18% drop in depreciation charges at Rs 83.74 crore, profit before tax rose 1% to Rs 460 crore.

After almost 58 bps rise in effective tax rate and 2% rise in tax provision at Rs 154.45 crore, net profit fell marginally to Rs 305.38 crore.

Automotive products, which constitute almost 88% of the company's revenues, registered 4% increase in sales during the quarter to Rs 2,232 crore. Profitability from the segment rose 12% to Rs 400.74 crore. The other segment registered 11% rise in sales at Rs 302.7 crore and registered profits of Rs 18 crore, a rise of 23%.

Overall, the Mobility Solutions business sector of Bosch Limited grew by 5.2% in the quarter July-September 2015 over the corresponding quarter of 2014. Domestic sales of mobility solutions grew strongly at 9.2%. This was driven by all of Bosch's mobility divisions. Bosch's business divisions beyond the Mobility Solutions sector registered an overall growth of 9.7% – especially the Power Tools business, Energy business and Packaging Technology grew strongly.

The Company has changed its financial year from January until December to April until March in previous accounting period. Consequent to this, the six months of current financial year is not comparable to nine months of previously accounting period.

For the FY ended 2014-15, Bosch posted net sales and income from services of Rs 12,085 crores, registering a growth of 38% over the previous year. PAT stood at Rs 1,337 crores, a growth of 51%. For the 12 months period ended March 2015, the company's income from sales and operations grew by 7.1% over the preceding 12 months. Profit Before Tax increased by 15.9%. Profit After Tax increased by 6.3% and stood at 10.6% of sales.

Positive outlook for Bosch in India over the mid-term

Bosch's forecast for the current financial year remains cautious. "We see a continued recovery in commercial vehicles on a low base and continued moderate growth in passenger cars. However, we expect the demand from the agricultural sector to remain muted. The overall sentiments also remain weak due to below normal monsoons for the second continuous year," Dr. Berns stated. "We are positive about the mid-term prospects for our business in the Indian market and are well prepared for the upcoming emission legislations. We continue to invest into our facilities, technological innovations and our associates in India," he further elaborated.

The promoters' share in the total shareholding stands unchanged at 71.18% in September 2015 quarter. The promoters' have pledged ‘nil' shares of the company.

The scrip is currently trading around Rs 19,345 at BSE.