Mahindra reports net loss of Rs 3,255 crore in Q4

New Delhi: Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) on Friday reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 3,255.02 crore for the quarter ended on March 31, 2020.

The company along with Mahindra Vehicle Manufacturers Ltd (MVML) had posted a net profit of Rs 969.25 crore for the January-March period of 2018-19.

Revenue from operations declined to Rs 9,004.72 crore during the fourth quarter compared with Rs 13,807.88 crore in the same period of corresponding fiscal, M&M said in a regulatory filing.

The company said it sold 86,351 vehicles in the fourth quarter, down 47 per cent from 1,63,937 units sales in the fourth quarter of 2018-19.

For 2019-20 fiscal, the company reported a net profit of Rs 739.71 crore against Rs 5,401.18 crore in 2018-19.

Net revenue from operations for the fiscal stood at Rs 44,865.52 crore as against Rs 52,848.21 crore in 2018-19.

On a standalone basis, the auto major reported a net loss of Rs 2,502 crore for the fourth quarter as compared with a net profit of Rs 849 crore in the January-March period of 2018-19.

The standalone net profit for 2019-20 fiscal stood at Rs 1,331 crore as against Rs 4,796 crore in 2018-19.

"The results were affected due to the lower industry volumes in both automotive and tractor segments, transition to BS VI and the abrupt lockdown due to the COVID situation," M&M said.

On the outlook, the company said that with easing of restrictions there will be a ramp up in production, supply chain and distribution from June onwards, which will aid economic activity.

While the overall services and manufacturing sectors are likely to see a slower recovery, the agriculture/farm equipment sector will be relatively less impacted, aided by several positive factors such as record Rabi production, higher government procurement, timely announcement of higher MSPs and outlook of a normal monsoon, it added.

"One can expect a quicker recovery in rural India, as is evident from tractor sales of the company in the month of May. The urban segment may take longer to come back to normalcy," M&M said.

Having said that, while the outlook is heavily contingent upon the intensity, duration and spread of the pandemic, a smooth normalisation and efficacy of policy measures will be the key to any recovery in the current fiscal, it added.

The company's board, which met on Friday, recommended a dividend of Rs 2.35 (47 per cent) per share of face value Rs 5 each for 2019-20 fiscal.