Bosch Limited

Bosch Limited

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Q3 FY2026 · Earnings Call TranscriptFebruary 9, 2026

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to Bosch Limited 3Q FY25-26 post-results conference call hosted by BNK Securities. From Bosch management, we have with us today Mr.

Guruprasad Mudlapur, Managing Director and Chief Technology Officer; Mrs. Karin Gilges, Chief Financial Officer.

At this point, all participant lines will be in the listen-only mode, and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the management presentation and opening remarks. Over to you, sir.

Guruprasad Mudlapur

Thank you and good afternoon everyone, and welcome to our Q3 FY26 earnings conference call. We will begin today with a macroeconomic overview, followed by an update on the auto market.

From there, I'll walk you through our financial performance for the quarter, and conclude with key business highlights. We will then open for the call for a Q&A session.

The global economy is adjusting to a landscape reshaped by geopolitical events and realignments in the trade relationships among countries.

Operator

Sir, we could not hear you, your voice, sir. Hello?

Hello? Management is reconnecting.

Guruprasad Mudlapur

Sorry about this.

Operator

Yeah. I think we missed you totally, sir.

We have to start from the start, sir.

Guruprasad Mudlapur

Sure. I'll do that.

Sorry about that, yeah.

Operator

No problem,

Guruprasad Mudlapur

sir. Thank you.

Sorry again, I'm going to start one more time. I'm hoping this works better.

Good afternoon everyone, and welcome to our Q3 FY26 earnings conference call. We'll begin today with the macroeconomic overview, followed by an update on the automotive market.

From there, I'll walk you through the financial performance for the quarter, and conclude with key business highlights. We will then open the call for a Q&A session.

The global economy is adjusting to a landscape reshaped by geopolitical events and realignments in the trade relationships among countries. There was tempering of higher tariffs in few cases due to subsequent resets in deals.

However, the overall business environment remains volatile. As per International Monetary Fund, the global growth is projected to slow down from 3.2% in 2025 to 3.1% in 2026.

Closer home, the Indian economy continues to demonstrate powerful resilience and showcases higher growth compared to its peers. The IMF has revised upwards its estimate of India's GDP growth in the current financial year 2025-26 to 7.3% from its earlier prediction of 6.6%, attributed to resilient domestic demand and easing inflation.

India also benefits from tailwinds to be gained from the now agreed FTA with the EU, and the handshake on the trade deal with US and other regions, including Australia, UK, and New Zealand. With the RBI maintaining a stable 5.25% repo rate, we see continued strength in domestic demand across the passenger and commercial vehicle segments, especially with expectation of transmission of earlier rate cuts by RBI.

The Union Budget 2026-27 presented earlier this month sends a strong and reassuring signal of policy continuity and intent for India's manufacturing-led growth, and is set to maintain the automotive industry's growth momentum through key measures like extension of basic customs duty exemptions on lithium-ion cell components for batteries, launch of the India Semiconductor Mission 2.0, support for mineral-rich states of Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu to establish dedicated rare earth corridors to promote mining, processing, research, and manufacturing, and continued investment in infrastructure, including a new freight corridor. Building on these supportive policy tailwinds, we are confident that the automotive and other supporting industry's growth outlook remains robust.

Next slide, please. India's automotive production remained robust in the October-December quarter, driven by broad-based strength across passenger vehicles, two-wheelers, and commercial segments as OEMs ramped up output to meet domestic and export demand.

Higher festive demand, rural market recovery, and improved supply chain conditions supported manufacturing activity across most vehicle categories. Production momentum was further bolstered by policy tailwinds, including GST rationalization, festive season, and new model launches.

This productive phase highlighted the sector's resilience and manufacturing competitiveness through the third quarter. After a subdued start, the passenger vehicle market recovered sharply to finish 2025 on a strong note.

This turnaround was driven by supportive government policies, including GST rationalization, the tax relief, which subsequently improved consumer sentiment and showroom traffic. SUVs spearheaded this recovery, with demand spurred by attractive discounts and seasonal buying ahead of anticipated price hikes.

The heavy commercial vehicle production recorded steady growth, driven by robust infrastructure demand, strong freight movement, and continued momentum from GST 2.0, festive demand, the government fleet orders, and ongoing road construction and mining activity. The bus segment showed notable traction, driven by school, intercity, institutional transport orders alongside steady fleet additions by state and private operators.

The outlook remains strong, the demand expected to be further bolstered by ongoing government capex and fleet replacement cycles. The LCV production remained robust, fueled by GST rationalization and a visible revival in demand following GST 2.0.

The fleet continues to benefit significantly from growth of e-commerce, which drives high demand for last-mile delivery and urban logistics. This positive momentum was sustained through the end of the year, reflected in rising fleet utilization and increased short-haul freight activity.

The three-wheeler segment saw a sharp production increase, driven by strong demand for both urban mobility and last-mile cargo delivery during the festive season. Supported by favorable government policies, OEMs ramped up production to meet this demand, allowing the segment to maintain healthy momentum through the end of the period.

Tractor production showed strong momentum, supported by healthy rabi sowing activity and carryover liquidity from a robust kharif harvest, which improved farmer confidence and cash flows. Improved water availability and healthy reservoir levels further aided demand.

Supportive government measures, including lower GST on tractors and state-level subsidies, enhanced affordability, while rising mechanization and steady non-agricultural demand from construction and haulage provided additional support. With positive rural sentiment, the tractor market remains well-positioned to sustain its growth.

The two-wheeler production was moderate in October as OEMs adjusted output following earlier inventory build-up. Production picked up in November and December as manufacturer ramped up output to meet festive and wedding season demand, a recovery that was supported by favorable GST reductions.

Next slide, please. Looking ahead to fiscal year 2026, we anticipate a period of steady and robust growth for Indian automotive industry.

The outlook is very positive as we expect three of the core segments—the passenger cars, tractors, and two-wheelers—to achieve all-time high production levels. This growth is broad-based, underpinned by strong economic fundamentals and supportive policies.

In passenger vehicles, we expect record performance driven by improved affordability thanks to easing interest rates and favorable GST reforms, which will stimulate strong consumer demand. The commercial vehicle segment is poised for healthy growth, fueled by sustained infrastructure spending and continued expansion of e-commerce logistics.

We expect LCV subsegment to be a standout performer, achieving its all-time high levels. The tractor business is also projected to hit a record, supported by strong rural sentiment, GST norms, and ongoing state subsidies.

Finally, the two-wheeler segment is set to scale a new peak. This will be driven by powerful combination of improving rural sentiment, rising disposable incomes, improved affordability, and recent GST cuts and tax rebates for individuals earning up to ₹12 lakhs, boosting consumer confidence.

Next slide, please. Now I'm going to go through the sector-wise sales performance.

Quarter-on-quarter, the mobility business has shown 18.5% in October-December 2025 as compared to October-December 2024, driven mainly from the Powertrain Solutions business, which grew by 19.5% mainly on account of growth in passenger cars and off-highway segments. The Mobility Aftermarket recorded a growth of 5.3% mainly on account of GST reforms, strong growth in OE segment, and growth across key product groups of diesel, wipers, and braking systems.

The Two-Wheeler business grew by 58.3% mainly on account of higher sale of exhaust gas sensors due to ramp-up for OBD-2 norms implementation from 1st April 2025. The Consumer Goods business declined marginally by 3.1%.

The Mobility business has grown by 14.9% in April-December 2025 as compared to April-December '24, driven mainly from the Powertrain Solutions business, which grew by 14.1% mainly on account of growth in commercial vehicles and off-highway segments. The Mobility Aftermarket business grew 4.8% mainly on account of sustained momentum across key product categories, including diesel, wipers, braking systems, and filters.

This overall growth was further reinforced by robust momentum in the OE segment. As already seen in quarter-on-quarter growth, the Two-Wheeler business has grown significantly due to the ramp-up of exhaust sensors resulting from OBD-2 norms implementation from April 1st, 2025.

The Consumer Goods business grew by 2.8%. The growth is attributed to new launches in entry-level, mid-price point segment, measuring tools, and outdoor garden equipments.

Next slide, please. Quarter-on-quarter, revenue from operations in October-December '25 stood at 48,856 million INR, which grew by 9.4% over October-December 2024.

The growth was driven mainly by higher sales in Power Solutions and Two-Wheeler Powersports segments, as seen in the previous slide. Likewise, revenue for the period April-December 2025 grew by 9.8% over April-December '24 from 131,768 million INR to 144,690 million INR.

This growth was also driven by strong performance in Power Solutions and Two-Wheeler Powersports segments. The EBITDA for October-December '25 was 6,124 million INR, which grew by 5.1% over the same quarter of the previous year.

The improvement in EBITDA margin was primarily driven on account of favorable product mix and optimization of expenses. The EBITDA for period April-December '25 was 18,688 million INR as compared to 16,628 million INR in April-December 2024, which grew by 12.4%.

The increase in EBITDA is on account of growth in revenue accompanied by favorable product mix. The profit after tax for October-December '25 grew by 16.1% over the same quarter of previous year.

October-December 2024 had an exceptional item, which you all know. The growth in profit after tax without this exceptional item in October-December quarter comes to 5.3%.

The profit after tax for nine months ending December 2025 stood at 22,017 million INR, which is a growth of 50.8% over the same period of previous year. The significant growth in PAT is mainly due to the profit on sale of the Video Systems, Access and Intrusion and Communication Systems business under the Building Technologies segment.

Next slide, please. I now walk you through key highlights for each of our business divisions this quarter.

The Powertrain Solutions division delivered strong growth this quarter on the back of broad-based growth across all segments, with exceptional performance in tractor and heavy commercial vehicle segments, boosted by successful rollout of GST 2.0. In a significant achievement that underscores Bosch's leadership in operational excellence, our Bidadi plant was recently awarded at the prestigious National CII SCALE Awards 2025 for digital excellence and innovation in logistics for developing an integrated, autonomous digital ecosystem that automates our entire logistics value stream, setting a new industry benchmark.

Further, at the CII Kaizen Awards 2025, the plant secured the Champions Trophy and the Challengers Trophy for developing low-cost solutions in productivity by improving overall equipment effectiveness in assembly lines and quality improvement by human error prevention to reduce internal and external complaints. Turning now to our Two-Wheeler and Powersports, our strategy is centered on providing advanced technology that empowers our OEMs to enhance end-user experience.

Our solutions truly shone this past year, playing a key role in the successful launch of new vehicles by several well-known two-wheeler OEMs. The launch of new TVS Apache RTX 300, powered by advanced Bosch systems, marked a significant new chapter for the iconic Apache brand.

In addition, we further demonstrated our role as a key technology partner with the launch of the Harley X440 T, which deeply integrates Bosch powertrain and safety systems along with our high-value-added features. These partnerships underscore the trust the major global brands place in our technology to deliver performance and safety.

Beyond these launches, we continue to shape the future of mobility by developing next-generation technology. Building on successful production ramp-up of OBD-2 requirements, 2025 became a landmark year for our mini heated lambda sensors, allowing us to achieve new, significant sales milestones for the product line.

True to our by riders, for riders philosophy, we showcased our latest innovations at the EICMA 2025 event in Italy, demonstrating our unwavering commitment to creating value for both our partners and the end-user. The Mobility Aftermarket began with temporary sales impact from the GST 2.0 implementation in October, but we saw a strong rebound shortly thereafter.

This recovery was supported by a synchronized upturn in the automotive sector, which was itself driven by festive, seasonal demand, GST reduction, and improved consumer confidence. The primary driver of our performance was the original equipment, or the OE-OES block, which effectively leveraged these favorable market conditions.

In addition to the strong results in the OE block, we also saw healthy growth across other core product groups. Specifically, our diesel systems, wiper systems, and braking systems all contributed positively to the quarter's performance.

For our Power Tools division, the past year was one of navigating a challenging market characterized by intense price pressure, particularly from competitors in China. This resulted in moderate growth for the division in both our quarterly and year-to-date results.

However, on the product front, our cordless segment continued its impressive trajectory, achieving double-digit growth for the fourth successive year. In addition, successful new product launches were significant contributors to our overall sales performance.

This product success is amplified by our market expansion efforts. We have significantly broadened our reach, expanding our dealer network to over 8,800 partners, which gives us a footprint of 25,000 retail points across more than 1,600 cities.

A key part of our market expansion is the Standard Line, a product range developed for artisans in India, offering Bosch quality at an accessible price point. To facilitate this, we have established a new distribution network with over 100 distributors.

In addition, we successfully launched the hand tools as a new business segment. This initiative demonstrates strong market acceptance, achieving 100 million INR in revenues within the first year.

Next slide, yeah. Thank you for all your contribution and for listening patiently through the call.

We will now address your queries. Thank you, and open for questions, please.

Operator

Thank you, sir. We will now begin the question-and-answer session.

The participants who wish to ask a question, please raise your hands. Alternately, participants can also type in their questions in the chat box directly to me.

We will wait for a moment as the question queue assembles, sir. The first question is from Mr.

Pramod Amthe. Please unmute and ask your question.

Pramod Amthe

Hi. Thanks for taking my question.

The first question is with regard to the capex. You alluded saying that many of your user segment may hit historic-high volumes.

In that context, are you re-looking at your capacities and also the capex requirement for the FY27-28?

Guruprasad Mudlapur

Okay. Karin, do you want to take that?

Karin Gilges

Yes, it's my pleasure. Yes, you are, of course, fully right.

This is an ongoing process in our company that we check the forwarding volumes predicted by the customers and by the market. We look at our technical capabilities and capacities, and then we adjust our investments in accordance.

A golden rule within Bosch: we all the time have some buffer left, and as soon as we drive into the buffer, we release the next capex for extension. Would you call out the numbers what it can be next year, year after, or compared to this year?

We are currently in consideration, and we do not want to give a guidance here now. Sure.

Pramod Amthe

Thanks. The second question is with regard to the India-EU deal.

Wanted to check your thought process in terms of, first, the imported components, because in terms of purchase goods, there's a large chunk which comes from parent. What is the understanding with the clients?

Usually when duties drop in such cases, it's a pass-through to the client, one? Second, what are the medium-term opportunities you look at exporting from India to global markets, and what are the duties there for such products in the current state?

Karin Gilges

Yeah. Perhaps the first part of your question, which is regarding imports.

We are importing mainly components from from the parent, and we are This is also an ongoing process of localization. This year, we have or in '25, we have localized NOx sensor for the component for the common rails.

We are going ahead with more localization for the common rail products. We will go ahead in the perspective of also localize a deNOx sensor.

This is a permanent review. Whenever commercially feasible, we are doing the localization.

Your second part is in regards of the exports. We have increased or already our exports volume for the spark plugs in 2025, and we expect also further good development of volumes in the spark plugs and in and in components for the common rail products.

We also expect an increasing export volumes in sensors, NOx sensors, and what we have relocated in the last let's say 1 and 1/2 years was pumps from Japan to India, we deliver these pumps also back to India, sorry, back to Japan and Korea.

Pramod Amthe

Thanks, Karin.

Guruprasad Mudlapur

Maybe just to add, I think you should keep in mind that the FTA is just signed, and we are extremely positive about what it is likely to bring in the mid and long term for India, and, of course, also for our operations in India. That we are very, very positive.

The fine print, as needs to be studied in detail, and the impact of what happens and how we can benefit from that is currently under study, and we are looking into every aspect of how we can benefit from this.

Pramod Amthe

Thanks, but would you call out what is your current import duty rates?

Guruprasad Mudlapur

Do you have the numbers, Karin? I think we'll have to get back to you on that.

Karin Gilges

Yes, exactly.

Pramod Amthe

Sure. Thanks and all the best.

Operator

Thanks, Pramod. Mr.

Mayur, you can unmute and ask your question.

Good afternoon. Thank you for taking the questions.

I hope I am audible clearly?

Guruprasad Mudlapur

Yes, you are.

I see. Sir, actually, over the last couple of quarters now, we have our This is a question more on profitability and margins.

We have stabilized in the region of, around 13% plus/minus. What I wanted to understand is, we are having a very strong tailwind across our portfolio.

The CV industry is on an upcycle, the tractor is doing phenomenal, we have OBD-2 on the two-wheelers, the passenger vehicle outlook is strong. Despite so much of operating leverage and despite localization, why is it that we are not seeing a movement on the margins, despite the growth coming and the narrative on the localization and other aspects, sir?

Guruprasad Mudlapur

You want to take it, Karin?

Karin Gilges

I take this question. Yeah.

If you look at the overall result for the last three years, then, of course, we had a tailwind with the growth, which helped us, but we also did a lot of cost improvement and localization. You see the EBIT is, or profit after tax, is going up.

We are improving also the margins. Nevertheless, we also, of course, have to consider a certain product mix which the market demands, and therefore you sometimes see a growth, but please also consider that we have to look at the product mix itself.

The second thing is, but this was for this quarter and was already mentioned, that we had already again a very strong quarter with very good 10.5% EBIT, and we also did already the first provision for the new labor code. Therefore, product mix, going forward further localization, working on the costs, or on the structural costs, also together with the growth, we see a good margin development.

You believe that over the next 3 to 4 years, the margins should start ticking up or should be meaningfully different directionally then compared to current margins?

Karin Gilges

Yeah. I would not give a guidance for the next three and four years.

I only can show you what we have delivered in the last three years, and then you can see in which cycles of margin improvement we are.

Because it was quite for the last almost 8 to 9 quarters we have Look, I'm talking more from an EBITDA margin. I understand you talk about EBIT margin.

More or less nothing much difference was coming. I understand two years you're comparing from around, there is a 100 basis point movement.

Given the tailwinds which we have, I was just thinking that shouldn't the operating leverage also now play out over the last 12 over the last 3-4 quarters? Any specific product mix you want to call out which is lower than our average margins, just as a qualitative understanding so that we are able to track the developments?

Karin Gilges

Look, the margin is, of course, if new products are coming in, we first bring the finished goods into the market, then we start the assembly and testing, then if this is stabilized, we start with the localization. That means with every new product coming into India and coming into the market, we start a new localization round.

Therefore, yes, the tractor is good, the tractor is stable, but, of course, we have also the common rail, we have now the new exhaust gas components, and with this, we are following the localization path also. This is the products mix in the technical cycles which we introduce into the market.

There is no specific product. It is more technology is developing, and we are following the technology path, and we are following with the localization, and with more localization, of course, you have then the improvement in the margins as well.

Okay. Last question from my side is, from your vantage point and your discussion with the OEMs, is there any incremental discussion and development around TREM V possibility?

We are in February '26, just wanted to have your understanding. While there are certain things in the public domain and understanding, but what is your understanding of the implementation, how gradual, where we are, and anything if you can give your insights on that?

Guruprasad Mudlapur

Maybe I can answer that. At least at this point of time, there is no visibility of a precise date of TREM V implementation.

Things are still quite open as far as we know with our discussions with the OEMs.

Okay. Thank you.

Thank you,

Guruprasad Mudlapur

Mayur.

Operator

Thanks, Mayur. Mr.

Hitesh Sharma, you can unmute and ask your question. Mr.

Hitesh Sharma? Anyhow, we'll go to the next caller.

Mr. Nikhil Ravi, you can unmute and ask your question.

Nikhil Ravi

Hello. Yeah.

Can you hear me now?

Guruprasad Mudlapur

Yeah. Very clear.

Nikhil Ravi

I just wanted to check up, what is the Bosch plan for the EV four-wheeler vehicles in India? What sort of per-car component you are targeting to supply?

Guruprasad Mudlapur

Okay. Maybe this is a very broad question, and this we need to distinguish also from the portfolio of Bosch Limited versus the portfolio of Bosch Group in general.

Of course, from the Bosch Group, a lot of components go into a car, into an electric car as well, so that continues. From the portfolio of Bosch Limited, we will strongly aim to bring in e-axles, and that would be the biggest component that comes into an electric vehicle.

We are in advanced discussions with several OEMs, and as we go forward in the coming quarters, we will let you know the exact nature of these things. Which component you said?

E-axles. E-axles is by far value-wise, it's the largest value component which goes into an electric vehicle, apart from, of course, batteries and other things which the OEMs make themselves.

You are not supplying anything to any OEM right now? In India, we are not supplying e-axles to any OEM right now.

We are in advanced discussions on several projects with OEMs, and we will come out in the open soon. The other components we are supplying are chargers, or DC-DC converters, power electronics basically.

That's going from our electronics unit.

Nikhil Ravi

Thank you. My question is over.

Hitesh Sharma

Yeah. Can I go ahead?

Guruprasad Mudlapur

Please.

Hitesh Sharma

Yeah. Could you help us understand how demand from the commercial vehicle segment is shaping up for Bosch, and roughly how much of your CV offtake is currently driven by the replacement demand?

Guruprasad Mudlapur

Yeah. As I mentioned in my initial talk, when I explained the slides, the commercial vehicle demand, both for HCV and LCVs, has been very robust in the last quarters, and it's connected to in our view, a good demand following the GST 2.0 changes, and, of course, increased offtake on government fleet orders, and ongoing activities around construction and mining.

Of course, the LCV demand has also been quite robust, and this is primarily connected to last-mile delivery, urban logistics, and in-city transportation, and so on, or short-haul delivery activities, but this also remains very, very robust at this point of time. Based on the trends of what the budget came up with right now, and also our talks with the HCV and LCV manufacturers or OEMs, we see that this trend is likely to continue, and we expect strong infrastructure activity to continue, and further, in line with the GDP growth, we also expect HCV and LCV activity to be strong in the coming quarters.

Hitesh Sharma

You're seeing good traction from the replacement side as well, right?

Guruprasad Mudlapur

Yes.

Hitesh Sharma

Okay. Are you also seeing an increase in your content per vehicle contribution or a more favorable product mix with CVs?

Guruprasad Mudlapur

Yes. There are of course, technology additions happening in the CV world, and that's quite favorable.

There are also other talks on what we can do, which are maybe very preliminary at this point of time in terms of technology to be discussed in a forum like this. At some point of time, we will update you on additional technology introductions that are likely to come up in the HCV world.

Hitesh Sharma

Thank you very much. That's all from my side.

Operator

We are ready to take the next question. Mr.

Himanshu Singh, can you please unmute yourself and go ahead? Mr.

Mohata, would you like to go ahead and ask your question?

Hello? Am I audible?

Operator

Yes, you are Kush.

I just had a couple of questions. Bosch has been working on alternate fuel technologies, just wanted to know that what is the progress on that and will there be a significant increase in content per vehicle compared to ICE vehicles or how is it?

Just wanted to get some clarity on that.

Guruprasad Mudlapur

Yeah. Bosch has a very wide portfolio options also for alternate fuels, flex fuels, and so on.

We've been offering this all over the world, and, of course, we also do that to our OEMs in India. The content per vehicle is not a major change in my view.

We'll have to get the precise numbers, but it's not a very significant change. The support to the OEMs is always there in Indian context.

Understood, sir. Thanks for that clarity.

My follow-up question would be I think we had received some pilot order on hydrogen fuel engine. What is the status on that, and is there any future potential for that?

Guruprasad Mudlapur

Yeah. On the hydrogen activity, we are working very closely with virtually every commercial vehicle and bus OEM in India.

As you've probably seen in the press or in media, there's a lot of vehicle testing activity that's currently ongoing. All OEMs are testing their engines, testing the vehicles for readiness.

This is the phase it is in. There are currently at least no known plans of rollout from any OEMs very specifically.

It's most likely also connected to how the infrastructure on hydrogen comes up, and there are other stakeholders involved, other players involved, and we'll have to get more clarity. I think all OEMs are working towards readiness of hydrogen vehicles from their side.

We are fully in touch with all of them, offering our technology and solutions, and working very closely with most of them.

Just to add, if you can clarify by when in India you expect that hydrogen engine will be commercially launched?

Guruprasad Mudlapur

See, it's maybe better to take this question in two parts. One part is when would vehicles and technology mature.

That's the thing we can control quite well, and there I would say it's going well on plan, and OEMs and us working very closely together towards this. The other side of this equation is when would infrastructure come up, when would we have hydrogen fuel stations, filling stations, and availability on at least major trunk routes or freight corridors be available with hydrogen.

This seems to be still not very clear at this point of time. We assume that by 2030, definitely there will be quite some hydrogen activity happening.

We're working towards that right now.

Thank you very much.

Guruprasad Mudlapur

Thank you.

Operator

Thanks for that clarity. We just have one question from one participant, Himanshu Singh.

His question is, will the new trade deal make the material versus import math unfavorable for localization and might see some delays in localization? If you can address that, please.

Guruprasad Mudlapur

Karin, you want to take that?

Karin Gilges

Yes, what was the question? Can you repeat, please?

Operator

Sure.

Karin Gilges

The impact of Of

Operator

localization, and if there is some delay in localization.

Karin Gilges

What was the first part? To what do you refer to that localization could come to a delay?

Guruprasad Mudlapur

No, I assume he refers it to as a consequence of the FTA,

Karin Gilges

would Of the FTA.

Guruprasad Mudlapur

FTA, yeah. Yes.

Would there be a delay in localization because there is now an FTA and there's no motivation to do any localization here. See, maybe I can start, and Karin can give you some more specifics.

The Bosch approach, with or without FTA, has always been to have localized production wherever the demand is, and our international production network always operates on that theme of producing in the region where it's relevant and where it's consumed. That's how we operate around the world, and this has been the practice with or without the FTA.

FTA, we will have to see what is the actual impact, and do we really need to recalibrate this approach and do something, or do we positively benefit from this approach and then enhance further localization? In all probability, this will only lead to further increased localization for us as years go by, and we will continue to be on this localization track.

Karin, if you have anything specific to add, please.

Karin Gilges

Thanks, Guru. As you mentioned, the most important thing is, or the philosophy of Bosch is, we try to do local for local.

Therefore, volumes are much more important than an FTA or import duties, whatsoever. In addition, often localization goes along with a strategic approach which we would like to do in a region, and therefore, yes, of course, there could be a positive effect, we see it positive.

Nevertheless, our localization roadmap has different directions. See, even if there is an FTA, and there is zero duty on a certain item, just the logistics may impact the landed cost.

There is always more sense when there are good volumes to have it fully localized, and that's always been our endeavor.

Operator

All right. Thanks, sir.

Just one follow-up question from the same participant. On the quarter performance, we have seen dip in margins for the automotive product segment on sequential basis.

Can you give some color on that front?

Karin Gilges

If you look on the quarterly basis, we have put in the provision for the labor code. If I correct this condition, we have, again, a very strong performance out of operations.

Operator

Sure. Going forward, the next question is from Darshan Bhandarkar from Banyan Tree.

Darshan, you can unmute and ask your question. No, Darshan, you're not audible.

Darshan has put it in the chat box. His question is, why is the auto segment growth so much lower than CV, tractor, and PV growth rate?

Hello? Am I audible,

Guruprasad Mudlapur

sir? You are.

Guru,

Karin Gilges

do you take this?

Guruprasad Mudlapur

No, you can take it, Karin. I don't think

Karin Gilges

No, the question is why the CV are better in the growth than the passenger cars?

Operator

No, his question is why is the auto segment growth lower than the CV, tractor, and PV growth rates?

Guruprasad Mudlapur

No, do you mean our growth or

Operator

Yes, Bosch.

Guruprasad Mudlapur

Okay. I think our auto sector growth has been, Powertrain Solutions as a whole, Aftermarket has been ahead of the sector growth.

Operator

Sure. The next question is from Gokul Maheshwari.

Gokul, you can unmute and ask your question.

Gokul Maheshwari

Hi. Thank you for the opportunity.

My question is just relating to the previous question is, you supply products to various segments of the automotive industry, whether it's two-wheeler, passenger cars, tractors, and CV. Which of the areas are we growing ahead of the underlying industry, and where are the segments where we are actually undergoing the industry growth?

Guruprasad Mudlapur

Broadly, I would say in every one of the auto sector segments, we've been going above the industry growth rates for all our products. The only area I would say we've not performed maybe so well in the last quarter has been our Power Tools division, which is the non-auto part, and there we know what corrective steps we need to take, and we're on it right now.

Apart from that, CV, two-wheeler, passenger cars, all of them, we are ahead of the sector growth.

Gokul Maheshwari

Right. Great.

Just on the dividend policy, when I read that there is a change where you have now quantified, if I read it correctly, anywhere between 55 to 80% of profits, is this a higher number than the previous policy or it's a lower number?

Guruprasad Mudlapur

I think we've just brought a lot more clarity into our dividend policy right now. If you look at our previous one, it was an open policy.

There were no limits or ranges set, and it was completely left open. The board discussed this and said it may be better to give it a clearer view, and therefore give guidance on how this is going to work.

That's what we've endeavored to do. Of course, the final dividends, irrespective of this policy, can always lie with the board, and they take the final call on how this goes.

Gokul Maheshwari

Okay. Fair.

Lastly, could you comment on your export performance for this year? How has the year, quarter, or the nine months shaping up?

Just a qualitative comment in terms of how do you see the outlook for the exports?

Karin Gilges

We are Yeah. In the exports, we are steadily grow.

Of course, we are looking forward to do more. I mentioned it already, especially in spark plugs, sensors, pumps to Japan and Korea.

Therefore, in the last years, step-wise we increased our exports. Again, main focus for us is the Indian market.

Gokul Maheshwari

Okay. Great.

Thank you so much, and all the best.

Operator

Yeah. Thanks, Gokul.

Due to lack of time, that was the last question. On behalf of BNK Securities, we thank all the participants for joining the call, and thanks to Bosch management for taking time out for the call, and giving us the opportunity to host the call.

Have a good day.

Guruprasad Mudlapur

Thank you, everyone, and we are happy that the market momentum has been positive, and we expect this to continue in the coming quarter, and we're looking forward to much better performance as we go forward. Thank you.