Bosch reports over 19% fall in net profit

Bosch reports over 19% fall in net profitWeighed down by prolonged slowdown of the automotive industry, Germany-based engineering & electronics giant Bosch on Thursday reported a fall of more than 19 per cent in net profit for the October-December quarter.

Bosch said its net profit fell 19.22 per cent to Rs 138.98 crore in the three months ended December 31, 2013, from Rs 172.05 crore in the previous three months.

The company suffered the fall in net profit despite an increase 1.4 per cent in revenue, from Rs 2,132 crore in the third quarter to Rs 2,162 crore in the fourth quarter.  It may be noted here that the company follows January to December financial year.

Announcing the quarterly results, the company said in a statement, "The prolonged slowdown of the automotive industry in 2013 coupled with weak consumer demand has affected the overall industry as well as our growth."

However, Bosch added that its non-automotive business had been doing very well, and that it was positive about the mid and long-term growth prospects.

The engineering & electronics firm also announced the launch of a new business unit in India, named Bosch Energy & Building Solutions India.  The new unit will focus on end-to-end energy generation & efficiency.  The company said its energy business grew rapidly in the recent past and offered enormous growth potential in the Asian country.