Bajaj’s export strength may not be enough to justify steep valuation premium over Hero
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Investors of Bajaj Auto and Hero MotoCorp stocks have little to complain about their March quarter (Q4FY26) performances. After all, Bajaj and Hero’s Ebitda grew by 36% and 31% year-on-year, respectively, to ₹3,323 crore and ₹1,856 crore.The companies tackled sequential profitability concerns over high input costs well. This reflects in the sequential improvement in Ebitda per vehicle by 3% for Bajaj to ₹24,200 and by 1.5% for Hero to ₹10,800.So, what led to the stellar show? Profitability protection by increasing the average selling price (ASP) and robust sales volume growth.
ASP was about 3% higher QoQ for both. Bajaj’s ASP was almost ₹1.17 lakh per vehicle, while Hero’s was at about ₹75,000.Bajaj derived about 15% of its sales volumes from higher-priced commercial vehicles (CVs), thus boosting its overall ASP. To that extent, Bajaj’s CV sales also distort the comparison of the two.
Bajaj’s Q4FY26 Ebitda margin was comparatively higher and flat QoQ at 20.8%, versus Hero’s margin at 14.5%, which fell 20 basis points (bps) QoQ.Volumes grew by 24% year-on-year for both. Pulsar and its variants with richer product mix have been growth drivers for Bajaj Auto in the higher-than-125cc motorcycle segment. On the other hand, Hero MotoCorp continues to dominate in the 100cc-125cc motorcycle market with its flagship Splendour.Overall, the market share for Bajaj in two-wheelers rose by 20 bps sequentially to 10.8%, while for Hero, it fell by 50 bps to 27.5%.
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