Ashok Leyland on February 12 has registered a massive 92.7 percent year-on-year fall in Q3FY20 standalone profit due to weak commercial vehicle demand.

The earnings of the commercial vehicle maker disappointed the street on all parameters.

Profit fell sharply to Rs 27.7 crore in the quarter ended December 2019, from Rs 380.8 crore in the same period last year.

Revenue from operations during the quarter declined 36.5 percent year-on-year to Rs 4,015.6 crore as volumes dropped 28.7 percent YoY.

"The industry continued to witness a decline in volume (39 percent). Despite a drop in volume, we have been able to achieve an EBITDA of 5.6 percent. We have been seeding our range of heavy-duty BS-VI vehicles in the market, well before the April 2020 deadline," Vipin Sondhi, MD & CEO said.

Company's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) plunged 65.3 percent to Rs 225.2 crore YoY, and margin contracted to 5.6 percent in the quarter ended December 2019, down from 10.3 percent in the year-ago period.

According to the average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18, profit was pegged at Rs 66 crore on revenue of Rs 4,192 crore, and EBITDA at Rs 251.6 crore with margin at 6 percent for the quarter.

"We continue our productivity and cost reduction programs started earlier in the year. These initiatives have helped us achieve a sizeable reduction in costs. We are also focusing on cash flows and conserving resources for future growth initiatives," Gopal Mahadevan, Whole Time Director & Chief Financial Officer said.

Source: moneycontrol.com