Bajaj Auto has announced the results for the year and the three months period ended on March 31, 2008.

The country’s second biggest two-wheeler maker has registered a quarterly profit of Rs 120 crore during the quarter ended March 2008.

The company didn’t provide year-ago numbers as the company was formed only last year after the demerger of the erstwhile Bajaj Auto Ltd.

However, the analysts had approximated the quarterly profit at between Rs 200 crore and Rs 250 crore.

Kevin D'sa, V-P (finance), Bajaj Auto, said, “There was a drop in topline for the last quarter principally on account of low sales, PAT (profit after tax) reported in a similar way.”

The company’s net sales for the same period stood at a rather modest Rs 2,074 crore. Due to this reason, Bajaj Auto wants to turn the tide by focusing even more on premium bikes.

During the same quarter, the company reported a decline of 23% in its two- and three-wheeler sales, which stood at 3.94 lakh units, as compared to 5.11 lakh units during the corresponding period of the last year.

Vijay Sarthy, analyst, JM Financial, said, “There was no increase in sales during the quarter and the also the company refused to pass on the hike in raw material prices. There will be no leeway in the coming months as sales are expected to remain tight.”

For the full year ended March 31, 2008, the company reported a net profit of Rs 755 crore, whereas the net sales for the same period stood at Rs 9,046 crore.

Bajaj Auto, the automotive company and Bajaj Finserve, the financing company, will be listed in the Bombay Stock Exchange on May 26.

Rajiv Bajaj, MD, Bajaj Auto, now eyes a bigger share in European premium bike manufacturer KTM and his company is also preparing for launching top-end Kawasaki bikes.