Bajaj Auto rides to a 52-wk high on highest ever Dec sales

Moneycontrol Bureau

Bajaj Auto 's total sales in December rose 13 percent year-on-year to 3.44 lakh units, its highest ever dispatches in December. The strong growth pushed its shares up 2 percent to a 52-week high of 2,178.65 on NSE in morning trade on Wednesday.

The Pune-based company's motorcycle sales last month were up 13 percent to 2.98 lakh units and three-wheeler commercial vehicle sales gained 9 percent to 45,596 units.

Bajaj Auto's exports were up 5 percent to 1.26 lakh units in December.

Also Read: Hero MotoCorp up 2% on better-than-expected Dec sales

Bajaj Auto's MD Rajiv Bajaj told CNBC-TV18 that the company had not offered any incentives to dealers or any discounts to customers last month. The decline in two-wheeler stocks post the Dassera-Diwali festivals had helped the company boost inventories, he said. Three-wheeler sales were aided by fresh release of auto permits by various states, he added.

Bajaj, however, remains cautious of the two-wheeler industry in 2013.

So far this financial year (Apr-Dec), the company has sold 32.56 lakh units down 2 percent year-on-year. Motorcycle sales are down 1 percent to 28.97 lakh and CV sales are down 9 percent to 3.59 lakh. Its exports have declined 4 percent to 11.82 lakh units.

At 10:40 hrs, Bajaj Auto was at Rs 2,173.95, up 2 percent on NSE.