The sales turnover for the half year grew 12.1 per cent to Rs 13,679.28 million (Rs 12,204.99 million in H1 2001-02). With a tight leash on costs and a beneficial model mix, the gross operating margin has improved 44.4 per cent to Rs 1,381.66 million (Rs 956.76 million. While the other income contributed Rs 72.31 million (Rs 82.89 million), financial expenses were lower by 23.5 per cent at Rs 340.03 million (Rs 444.76 million).

Consequently, the gross profit registered a 87.3 per cent jump to Rs 1,113.94 million (Rs 594.89 million). After a depreciation of Rs 541.41 million (Rs 457.79 million), the profit before tax (before extraordinary item) at Rs 572.53 million (Rs 137.10 million) has improved by 317.6 per cent.

After the extraordinary item of amortised voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) compensation at Rs 86.69 million (Rs 14.89 million) and a tax provision of Rs 180 million (Rs 31.10 million), the company's net profit has improved by 235.7 per cent to Rs 305.84 million (Rs 91.11 million). As a result, at Rs 2.57 (Rs 0.77), the earnings per share are up 233.7 per cent.

The sales turnover for the second quarter (July-September 2002) stands at Rs 7,181.98 million (Rs 6,374.27 million) - an increase of 12.7 per cent. Thanks largely to cost reduction and the shift in product mix, the gross operating margin improved 34.6 per cent to Rs 775.39 million (Rs 576.07 million).

Though the other income was lower at Rs 49.59 million (Rs 72.23 million), the reduced financial expenses of Rs 163.86 million (Rs 215.94 million) have boosted the gross profit by 52.9 per cent to Rs 661.12 million (Rs 432.36 million). Depreciation is at Rs 284.23 million (Rs 208.52 million).

The company's profit before tax (before extraordinary expense) shows a 68.4 per cent improvement at Rs 376.89 million (Rs 223.84 million). Despite higher charges for amortised VRS compensation at Rs 46.42 million (Rs 7.59 million) and provision for taxation at Rs 122.10 million (Rs 31.10 million), the net profit for the quarter is up 12.5 per cent to Rs 208.37 million (Rs 185.15 million).

Says Ashok Leyland managing director R Seshasayee: ''A few factors, in the main, made this possible. Firstly, revenues have been boosted by the volume growth in both vehicles and engines and the continuing shift in the product mix. Moreover, year after year, we continue to extract incremental efficiencies from our processes with significant savings in material and financial costs.''

Looking ahead at the remaining five months of the current financial, Seshasayee says during this period, the company will implement a significant strategic shift in respect of engine platforms. ''In the coming week, we would launch the first of our H-series truck models covering 16T GVW to 35T GTW.

''Besides model specific improvements, what is common among them all is the engine - all of them will be powered by the popular, fuel-efficient H-series engines - so far restricted to the bus segment where it has become the preferred engine. This engine has been a product differentiator and should help us reap from an expected double digit growth in the truck segment.''