By Kashish Tandon
July 30 (Reuters) – Hyundai Motor India on Thursday maintained its fiscal 2027 volume growth and operating margin outlook, expecting new launches and stronger demand for gas-powered vehicles to offset disruptions that hurt quarterly profit.
The carmaker’s shares rose as much as 2.8% after results before ending 1.3% higher.
The company held its EBITDA margin outlook of 11%-14% for fiscal 2027 even as its first-quarter margin fell to 9.3% from 13.3% a year earlier.
First-quarter profit fell over 35% to 8.89 billion rupees ($92.91 million), while revenue fell 0.5%, hurt by higher costs and a production disruption at its Chennai plant.
“… the new model cycle starts from October with the mid SUV in the festive season. So that should also help us to improve the volumes,” CEO and MD Tarun Garg said on a post-earnings conference call.
Hyundai expects CNG vehicles, which accounted for a record 18% of quarterly sales, to also drive growth.
India’s auto market recovered after New Delhi cut taxes last September, but Hyundai India said higher raw material costs and weaker exports due to the Middle East conflict weighed on earnings.
Higher steel and commodity prices continued to pressure margins despite price hikes during the quarter.
The automaker plans to launch a mid-sized SUV in the Creta segment during the festive season, followed by an electric vehicle in the Venue segment later this fiscal year.
It also plans to expand its CNG lineup to six models by 2030 from three currently, Garg said.
($1 = 95.6300 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman and Nivedita Bhattacharjee)