Auto slump drags Bosch December profit, revenue

The downturn in the automotive industry continued to adversely impact auto components major Bosch’s performance as the firm posted a decline both in its net profit and revenues in the third quarter ended December 2019 (Q3FY20).

The Bengaluru-headquartered firm posted 27.5 per cent decline year-on-year (YOY) basis in its profit before tax (PBT) at ~347.5 crore for Q3. Net profit declined 43 per cent at ~190.33 crore, during this period.

As the automotive industry goes through major disruption, Bosch also witnessed 15.7 per cent fall in its revenues from operations at ~2,537 crore, compared to ~3,007.8 crore a year ago. “The entire automobile industry is in the grip of a slowdown with a major technology shift from Bharat Stage (BS)-IV to BS

VI on the horizon.

Together with OEMS (original equipment manufacturers), Bosch has been working relentlessly to meet the April 1, 2020 deadline for the implementation of BS-VL technologies,” said Soumitra Bhattacharya, MD, Bosch. “At the same time, we are continuing to invest in electrification and other mobility solutions,” he added.

According to the company, there was no let-off in the downturn, caused by cyclical and structural factors, mainly in the commercial vehicle and tractor segments. In Q3, firm’s revenues from mobility solutions decreased by 26 per cent as Powertrain Solutions division were affected by the slowdown.

Similarly, Bosch’s business beyond mobility solutions sector posted a decline of 13.9 per cent on account of decline in solar energy division.

In Q3, the firm made an additional provisioning of ~207 crore towards various restructuring and transformational projects initiatives.