
Bharat Forge, one of the leading aluminium forging house has reported a loss of INR 210.44 crore for the December’20 quarter compared to a profit of INR 40.40 crore in the comparable quarter in the previous year.

The company stated that it had to deliver INR 274.26 crore during the quarter towards a fine imposed on the company’s German subsidiary in an anti-trust case settlement by Germany’s competition regulator. In December’20, a fine of €32 million was imposed and has to be paid over the next five years.
Furthermore, the company also had to spend INR 5.47 crore on VRS for employees at Mundhwa and Satara plants and around INR 19.71 crore for manpower optimisation in overseas subsidiaries, taking the total exceptional cost to INR 299.44 crore. The company’s consolidated revenue was plunged 6% Y-o-Y to INR 1,723 crore in the December quarter. Profit before tax and exceptional items were at INR 127.23 crore during the quarter compared to INR 86.11 crore in the Q3FY20.

Baba Kalyani, Chairman and Managing Director, Bharat Forge, said: “Demand was expected to remain robust across all key geographies and sectors and in the export market, they were witnessing demand recovery across sectors.”
“The Indian Union Budget’s focus on infrastructure development along with the vehicle scrapping policy bodes well for both the CV and industrial sector growth over the medium term,” Kalyani said.
“The government’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme coupled with Self-reliant would open up new growth opportunities for the company”, he said.
The company saw a recovery in the automotive business with demand for heavy trucks in Europe and North America recovering faster than expected.
Increased infrastructure spending, mobilisation of construction projects and mining activities in the domestic market is expected to improve fleet utilisation and M&HCV demand further in the coming quarters. The industrial business, barring the oil and gas sector, showed a sequential as well as Y-o-Y growth during the third quarter. There was a 95% reduction in the oil and gas business.
Lightweight components, aluminium forging and defence and electric vehicle components would-be the key drivers of growth for the company in the next three to five years. However, new facilities coming up in the US and Europe are expected to start production in the first half of FY22.
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