Hero Honda net dips 20%

NEW DELHI: High interest rates, volatile raw-material prices and fierce competition has led India???‚¬?„?s largest two-wheeler manufacturer ???‚¬??? Hero Honda Motors Ltd (HHML) ???‚¬??? witness a dip of 20.14% in net profit to Rs Rs 189.84 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, against Rs 237.74 crore in the corresponding period last year.

This despite the fact that the company introduced two new models ???‚¬??? the new Splendor NXG and the refreshed model of Pleasure ???‚¬??? during this quarter to revive sales which have been declining over the last few months due to over 200 basis point increase in interest rates since December 2006.

???‚¬?“The first quarter has not been encouraging for the auto industry, with uncertainty over interest rates making customers postpone purchases. We are hopeful that closer to festive season, the industry will be back on growth path,???‚¬ said Brijmohan Lall, chairman, HHML.

Source: [url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Earnings/Hero_Honda_net_dips_20/articleshow/2231292.cms]Economic Times[/url]