Hero MotoCorp Ltd, which sells about one in four motorcycles and scooters in the country, reported strong earnings in the financial year 2024-25, buoyed by higher exports and strong demand for its new premium motorcycles.
The Delhi-based company’s revenue from operations rose 9% to ₹40,756 crore for the fiscal year ended 31 March. Its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation, or Ebitda, margin for the year increased 40 basis points to 14.4% due to higher sales of premium motorcycles. Its net profit during the year jumped 16% to ₹4,610 crore.
“Our success during the year was underpinned by robust growth across the premium, scooter, and EV segments, fuelled by several new product launches,” Vikram S. Kasbekar, executive director and acting chief executive officer at Hero MotoCorp, said in a statement.
The country’s largest two-wheeler maker recorded ₹9,939 crore revenue in January-March, an year-on-year rise of 4%. Net profit increased 6% to ₹1,081 crore.
“Export volumes outpaced industry trends, and we further expanded our premium retail footprint across India while entering new global markets,” Kasbekar added.
The company’s exports surged 44% to 289,668 units in FY25, becoming a key growth driver.
Hero MotoCorp sold 5.9 million scooters and motorcycles in FY25, rising 5% from the year prior. This pace of growth, however, was far slower than its erstwhile partner Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Pvt Ltd’s 18% rise, which helped it sell 5.3 million two-wheeler sales.
FY25 proved to be remarkable for Hero’s EV ambitions, as Vida scooter sales soared by 175% to 48,674 units. Consequently, their market share more than doubled to 4.2% from 1.8%, signaling a strong push to catch up with EV rivals like TVS Motor Company and Bajaj Auto.
The company’s focus on international markets will deepen as it seeks to enter the European Union and the United Kingdom markets by the second half of 2025.
“Looking ahead, we remain optimistic about the near‐to‐mid‐term outlook. Key macroeconomic indicators, including revised income tax slabs, repo rate cuts, a strengthening rural economy, and a favorable monsoon forecast, are expected to support industry growth,” Vivek Anand, chief financial officer at Hero MotoCorp, said.
Analysts cautious
However, analysts are cautious about the company’s growth prospects.
“We believe while Hero retains dominance in the 125–160cc space, the lack of traction in premium ICE bikes and evolving EV dynamics could lead to below-industry growth in FY26,” Sanket Kelaskar, analyst- institutional equity at Ashika Group, said.
Kelaskar explained that although the company is pushing hard on the electric vehicle front, Hero struggled to scale above the 200cc+ segment amid intense competition from Royal Enfield and Triumph.
Hero’s growth has lagged behind its rival TVS Motor Company, whose full-year profit grew by over 30% to ₹2,710 crore, while revenue rose 14% to ₹36,309 crore.
In FY25, the company launched five premium motorcycles ranging from Xtreme250r to XPulse 210. In the electric vehicle segment, it will now try to expand in the three-wheeler segment by acquiring a majority stake in Euler Motors. Hero is currently present in the two-wheeler segment only.
During the last financial year, the two-wheeler maker saw high-level exits, including CEO Niranjan Gupta and chief business officer Ranjivjit Singh.
Shares of Hero MotoCorp’s settled 1.8% higher at ₹4,055.50 apiece on the BSE on Tuesday. Nifty Auto index fell 1%.
