Recovering well amid the pandemic blues, two-wheeler major Hero MotoCorp has reported its highest ever quaterly revenue in the quarter-ended December at Rs 9,775.77 crore.

During the same quarter of last fiscal, the company had reported a standalone revenue from operations at Rs 6,996.73 crore.

The standalone net profit of the company during the period under review was Rs 1,084.47 crore, up from Rs 880.41 crore during the third quarter of FY20.

“This has been possible, thanks to the robust sales volume during the quarter and a combination of key strategic initiatives such as cost reduction efforts to partially offset the impact of the commodity costs and intense operational efficiencies,” Hero MotoCorp said in a regulatory filing.

Shares of Hero MotoCorp on the BSE touched a 52-week high of Rs 3,575 per share on Friday. They, however, declined later to end on a subdued note.

The two-wheeler major has also declared interim dividend of Rs 65 per share. In addition, the company has announced a special interim dividend of Rs 100 crore at Rs 5 per equity share, to mark the achievement of historic milestone of achieving 100 million cumulative production of two wheelers, taking the aggregate interim dividend to Rs 70 per share.

On January 21, 2021, Hero MotoCorp surpassed the monumental milestone of 100 million (10 crore) units in cumulative production. The 100 millionth motorcycle, the Xtreme 160R, was rolled-out of the company’s manufacturing facility in Haridwar, in the northern Indian hill state of Uttarakhand.

Niranjan Gupta, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Hero MotoCorp, said: “Our performance in the third-quarter underlines Hero MotoCorp’s operational strength and ability to perform well despite a challenging and volatile environment. The company has been able to drive profitable growth through improvement in market shares, acceleration of ‘Leap-II’ savings initiatives, continued control on overheads, and cash flow management.”

“We continue to build on our strong portfolio with the launch of special edition variants to commemorate the milestone of 100 Million units in cumulative production,” he said.

Going forward, he said that the company expects input costs to remain under pressure due to the rising prices of commodities and fuel.

He was of the view that the recent price increase on Hero MotoCorp’s range of products will partially offset cost pressures.

“We will continue to focus on driving cost savings, and take judicious price increases if and when necessary,” Gupta added.

“With the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projecting a strong recovery in India’s economic growth rate in FY 21-22, we remain optimistic about the prospects of personal mobility and consumer demand. Hero MotoCorp is confident to make the most of this economic spur on the back of new launches of exciting products and our strong brand equity with customers across markets.”