TVS Motor Beats Third-Quarter Profit Estimates On Price Increases

India's TVS Motor reported a bigger-than-expected rise in third-quarter profit on Tuesday, as the two-wheeler maker passed on the increase in expenses to its customers.

Corporate India raised prices of everything from toothpaste to scooters in recent quarters as costs shot up due to the Russia-Ukraine war.

TVS' profit climbed nearly 22% to 3.53 billion Indian rupees ($43.25 million) for the quarter ended Dec. 31, with analysts attributing a bulk of it to price increases. Analysts had expected a profit of 3.43 billion rupees, according to Refinitiv data.

The Tamil Nadu-based company, which makes the popular Apache bikes and Jupiter scooters, said sales volumes were roughly flat from a year earlier even as export volumes declined.

TVS', which operates in 80 countries including South Africa, Argentina and Sri Lanka, revenue from operations rose to 65.45 billion rupees from 57.06 billion rupees.

Sales of electric vehicles (EV) for the third quarter nearly doubled from the previous quarter, according to TVS, which has tied up with Amazon India to boost its EV business.

Analysts now expect TVS and other two-wheeler makers, including Bajaj Auto and Hero MotoCorp, to book margin benefits in the coming quarters as prices of commodities are easing off their highs.

However, they would still need to bet on a rebound in demand from rural India as customers, reeling from the impact of high inflation, are wary of spending on pricey goods and committing to instalment plans.

Shares in TVS, which climbed nearly 73% last year and outperformed Nifty Auto index's 15% increase, closed marginally higher.

TVS also declared an interim dividend of 5 rupees per share.