New Delhi, May 24 (IANS) Commercial vehicle maker Ashok Leyland Ltd on Friday reported a 19.8 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 900 crore for the January-March quarter of 2023-24 compared to Rs 751 crore in the same quarter last year.

The board of directors of the company declared a dividend of Rs 4.95 per equity share of Re 1.

The flagship company of the Hinduja Group's consolidated revenue from operations in the quarter under review stood at Rs 13,577.58 crore as compared to Rs 13,202.55 crore in the year-ago period.

Its total expenses in the fourth quarter were marginally lower at Rs 12,037.16 crore as compared to Rs 12,085.5 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.

For the financial year ended March 31, 2024, the company's net profit almost doubled to Rs 2,628 crore as compared to Rs 1,380 crore in the previous fiscal.

Its revenue from operations in FY 24 was at Rs 38,367 crore which represents a 6% increase from the corresponding figure of 36,144 crore crore in FY23.

The company claimed that the results were backed by an "all-round performance" with contributions from all business verticals.

In the M&HCV Bus segment, it claimed that it has gained 5.8 per cent gain in market share.

Dheeraj Hinduja, Chairman, Ashok Leyland Limited said: “We continue to be optimistic about our industry prospects in the short to medium terms backed by anticipated robust growth in the Indian economy."

Its LCV volumes in the 2-3.5 tonne category were maintained despite the industry witnessing a reduction in volumes. Export volumes for the year grew 5 per cent despite challenging conditions in target markets.

Ashok Leyland CMD Dheeraj Hinduja said: "We continue to be optimistic about our industry prospects in the short to medium terms backed by anticipated robust growth in the Indian economy. We are confident that we will continue to maintain sustainable and profitable growth ahead."

Shenu Agarwal, CEO of Ashok Leyland Limited stated that FY24 has been a "strong year" as the company has achieved all-time high numbers in terms of revenues, EBITDA margins or profits.

"This gives us even more strength to move towards our medium-term goal of mid-teen EBITDA. Our product portfolio is very robust, and our future pipeline is strong," he added.