Atlas Honda’s profit rises 17%, amounts to Rs1.17b

EPS stands at Rs11.32 for the October-December quarter

KARACHI: Atlas Honda Limited, the largest motorcycle manufacturer in Pakistan, posted a profit of Rs1.17 billion for the quarter ended on December 31, 2017, up 17% compared with Rs1 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year, according to a company notice sent to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).

Earnings per share (EPS) increased to Rs11.32 in the third quarter (Oct-Dec) of 2017 from Rs9.68 in the same quarter of the previous year.

This takes the nine-month (Apr-Dec) profit to Rs3.41 billion - EPS of Rs33 - compared with Rs2.71 billion (EPS of Rs26.22) in the same period last year.

The company’s share price closed at Rs555, up 4.5% on Wednesday. The KSE-100 index closed at 44,049, down 184 points or 0.42%.

In May last year, Atlas Honda launched a 150cc engine motorcycle at a price tag of Rs160,000, targeting the high-end segment of the market.

The corporation, which is now expanding its product line from smaller to higher capacity engines, believes that a growing middle-class and an increasing per-capita income is helping it achieve higher sales.

Similar to the automobile market, motorcycle sales in the country are also showing double-digit growth mainly due to macroeconomic stability and higher disposable incomes.

Atlas Honda is a joint venture between the Atlas Group, a local financial and industrial conglomerate, and Honda Motor of Japan.

Honda operates through two joint ventures in Pakistan’s automobile industry, both with the Atlas Group. It owns a 51% stake in Honda Atlas Cars (a sedan assembler) and a 35% stake in Atlas Honda (the motorcycle producer).

Published in The Express Tribune, February 1^st, 2018.

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