Revenue from operations during the quarter under review was at Rs3071.92 crore, rise of 14%.

Strong operational performance coupled withlower depreciation charges aided bottomline growth. OPM during Q3 FY 18 witnessed sharp rise. But big rise in tax provision truncated bottomline growth to some extent.

"Bosch is offering the right technologies to shape the future while also taking care of the core businesses. We expect to remain on a path of growth in both areas in the current business year and are well prepared", stated Mr. Soumitra Bhattacharya, managing director, Bosch Limited, and president Bosch Group in India, while announcing the results for Quarter 3.

"Bosch Limited is strongly committed to the electrification vision of the Indian government", commented Mr. Bhattacharya. "Bosch has always been a pioneer of technologies for the automotive domain and has driven technology transformations such as the introduction of electronic fuel injection equipment. We will continue to develop technologies tailored to the requirements of the Indian market and enable the electrification of the powertrain. We will start with 2W and 3W components and as the market picks up, we will foray into other segments," he continued.

Quarterly Performance

For thethird quarter ended Dec 2017, the company's margins witnessed 390 bps rise, mainly due to drop in employee cost and other expenses. Raw material cost including purchase of stocks increased 60 bps to 53.4%. The employee cost (as a % of sales, net of stock) decreased 390 bps to 10.96%. Other expense (as a % of sales, net of stock) decreased by 10 bps to 21.2%. OPM during the quarter roseto 14.6%(against 10.7%) leading to56%rise in operating profit to Rs448crore.

With 28% dropin other income at Rs102.26 crore, PBIDT rose 28% to Rs549.85crore. With negligible interest cost at Rs2.66 crore vis a vis Rs1.69 crorein previous corresponding quarter and 4%drop in depreciation charges at Rs124.28 crore, profit before tax rose 41%to Rs422.91 crore.

After almost 540 bps risein effective tax rate and 68%rise in tax provision at Rs141.9 crore, net profit grew 29%to Rs281 crore.

Overall, Bosch Limited's Mobility Solutions businesses grew by 17.8% and outperformed the automotive market which grew by 14% (excluding two-wheeler) in this period. Key performing divisions were the Gasoline Systems business, which registered an impressive growth of 37.1%. Sales of the Diesel Systems' division registered a similar growth of 33.6% supported by higher demand and price for new generation products with the changes in emission norms with effect from April 2017. Bosch's Automotive Aftermarket division witnessed a stable growth of 4% after recovering from GST transition. It was impacted by low availability of working capital with channel partners, and a reduction in the company's Car Multimedia business.

With regard to the company's business beyond the Mobility Solutions sector, the divisions Security Systems, Packaging Technology and Thermotechnology achieved double-digit growth, while the Energy Solutions business saw a decrease. This led to an overall decline of 3.1%.

Nine Month Performance:

Sales for nine month ended Dec 17 grew 8% to Rs8532.12 crore. The company's margins witnessed 40 bps rise, mainly due to drop in employee and other expenses. Raw material cost including purchase of stocks increased 170 bps to 53.9%. The employee cost (as a % of sales, net of stock) decreased 140bps to 12%. Other expense (as a % of sales, net of stock) decreased by 90 bps to 17.6%. OPM during the nine month period rose to 16.3% (against 15.9%) leading to 11%rise in operating profit to Rs1394.58crore.

With 26% drop in other income at Rs360.8 crore, PBIDT rose 1% to Rs1755.4crore. With negligible interest cost at Rs3.2 crore vis a vis Rs3.93 crore in previous corresponding period, and 12% rise in depreciation charges at Rs341.33 crore, profit before tax fell 1% to Rs1410.87 crore.

After almost 430 bps rise in effective tax rate and 13%rise in tax provision at Rs473.91 crore, net profit fell 7% to Rs936.96 crore.

The scrip is currently trading around Rs 19,500 at BSE.