Ashok Leyland posts lower sales, profit

Chennai, May 22 (IANS) Commercial vehicle major Ashok Leyland Ltd. closed last fiscal with a turnover of Rs.9,943 crore and a net profit of around Rs.29 crore - down from Rs.12,481 crore and Rs.434 crore respectively logged during 2012-13, said a senior official.

Speaking to reporters here Thursday, managing director Vinod K. Dasari said: "The overall market for commercial vehicles came down... that impacted the company. However, we have maintained our market share in medium and heavy commercial vehicles."

He said the company earned around Rs.505 crore selling non-core assets. According to him, the company plans to sell non-core assets during the current fiscal also.

Dasari said the company took restructuring initiatives to reduce various costs-production, finance, material and others. He said the company reduced its debt by around Rs.1,500 crore.

According to chief financial officer Gopal Mahadevan, the target is to reduce the debt: equity ratio to 1:1 from the current 1.14: 1.

Dasari said the company will be investing around Rs.150 crore this fiscal towards new product launches.