Bosch Ltd, a supplier of automotive components to original equipment makers, has reported 69.4 per cent drop in net profit to Rs 49.3 crore for its first quarter ended March 2009, compared with the corresponding quarter last year. Its net sales for the quarter dropped 20.6 per cent to Rs 991.6 crore.
The drop in net profit is largely due to a dip in demand by major OEMs in the domestic and export markets. The company, which imports a lot of components, was also hit by the rupee's depreciation against the dollar. Operating profit for the quarter saw a massive drop of 82.2 per cent to Rs 33.50 crore.
VK Viswanathan, managing director, gave two more reasons for the drop. "We had made huge investments last year. We also had to account for the depreciation in this quarter. As against Rs 52.5 crore depreciation recorded in the first quarter of last year, we took a charge of Rs 68.8 crore during the first quarter this year. Last year, we had a one-time income from sale of investment in mutual funds amounting to Rs 20.4 crore. This year, it dropped to Rs 7.2 crore." The company's earnings per share dropped to Rs 15.5 from Rs 50.5 in the corresponding quarter last year.