Hero MotoCorp, India's largest two-wheeled vehicle maker, beat analyst estimates with a 9 per cent rise in profit, the first gain in five quarters.
Net profit was 4.81 billion rupees for the fiscal second-quarter ended September 30, Hero said in a statement on Wednesday. That compared with the 4.41 billion rupees of a year earlier, and the 4.63 billion rupees mean estimate of 14 analysts according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Net sales rose 11 per cent to 57 billion rupees, compared with the estimate of 57.02 billion rupees.
Sales in volume terms rose 6 per cent from a year earlier, when the company reduced production to adjust its inventory.
Since its 2011 split from Japan's Honda Motor Co, Hero has been investing heavily in technology and increasing exports, which were restricted under the terms of the 26-year joint venture.
