New Delhi, Nov 8 : Heavy commercial vehicle maker Ashok Leyland reported a net profit of Rs 770 crore for the July- Sept quarter, which marks a 37 per cent growth over the same period last year.

"Owing to continued improvement in the company's fiscal performance and a positive outlook for the balance half of the year, the Board has recommended an interim dividend of Rs 2 per share on face value of Re 1," a company statement said.

The Hinduja group company said its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the quarter was up at 11.6 per cent, at Rs 1,017 crore, as against 11.2 per cent, or Rs 1,080 crore in the corresponding period last year.

Ashok Leyland's domestic MHCV market share continues to be over 31 per cent. The company maintained market leadership in the bus segment. The light commercial vehicle (LCV) domestic market share in the addressable segments has also gained in the first half of the year, according to a company statement.

The Chennai-based company said its MHCV domestic sales volume was at 25,685 vis-a-vis 29,947 in Q2 FY'24. LCV volume was at 16,629 vis-a-vis 16,998 in Q2 last year. Export volumes for the quarter at 3,310 nos. were higher by 14 per cent.

Defence, power solutions and aftermarket businesses continue to perform well and are expected to post good growth in the current fiscal. The company continued to expand its innovative product offerings in Q2 by launching new products in the tipper, bus, haulage, and LCV segments.

The focus on expansion of the distribution network also continued, the company said.

Ashok Leyland Executive Chairman Dheeraj Hinduja said: "The Indian economy is expected to do well in the second half which would benefit our industry. We remain optimistic about industry prospects for H2 on the back of strong macroeconomic fundamentals, supported by the resumption of government spending in capex and good monsoons. Our robust all-round performance in Q2 is backed by our technological and cost leadership. Internationally as well, we are intensifying our expansion strategy in our focus markets of SAARC, Middle East, Africa and Asia, aimed at posting the best performance ever during this fiscal. We continue to invest in new products with alternative fuels. Switch is doing well with an order book of nearly 2000 buses."

MD & CEO, Shenu Agarwal, added: "Our PAT for Q2FY25 is an all-time high. Our EBITDA margins have improved both sequentially and on YoY basis, making this the seventh consecutive quarter of double-digit EBITDA. We are well on track to achieve mid-teen EBITDA in the medium term."

/IANS