Shares of the Hinduja Group flagship company rose 4.4% after results.
Its standalone profit rose 31.3% to 7.63 billion rupees ($87.83 million) in the three months ended December 31, beating analysts’ average estimate of 6.66 billion rupees, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Revenue from operations rose 2.2% to 94.79 billion rupees.
Ashok Leyland’s exports rose by a third in the quarter. Total sales, however, fell 2.2%, hurt by sluggish capex spending in the country, analysts said.
“Sales in international markets are showing strong growth, and we expect this momentum to accelerate with the launch of new products,” Dheeraj Hinduja, executive chairman of the company, said in a statement.
India’s overall commercial vehicles sales rose 1.2% in the quarter, helped by a rise in the demand for light commercial vehicles, which forms only around 34% of Ashok Leyland’s total sales.
Analysts also said most commodity prices remained stable in the quarter and prices of steel, one of the key raw materials used in the industry, remained soft.
Bigger rival Mahindra & Mahindra reported a 19% rise in quarterly profit last week, while Tata Motors’ third-quarter profit came in below market expectations.