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Ashok Leyland clocks record Q3 profit despite labour code hit
Revenue jumps 22 per cent; margins improve and volumes beat industry
CHENNAI: Ashok Leyland Limited reported a record December quarter, delivering its highest-ever profit and revenue despite absorbing a one-off charge linked to the new labour code.
The commercial vehicle maker posted a standalone net profit of Rs 796 crore in the third quarter of FY26, up 4.4 per cent from Rs 762 crore a year earlier. The result includes a one-time charge of Rs 308 crore, after which profit still touched an all-time high.
Revenue from operations rose 22 per cent on-year to a record Rs 11,534 crore, compared with Rs 9,479 crore in the year-ago quarter, supported by strong demand across segments.
Operating performance remained firm, with Ebitda rising 27 per cent to Rs 1,535 crore from Rs 1,211 crore. Ebitda margin improved to 13.31 per cent, up from 12.78 per cent, marking the 12th consecutive quarter of double-digit margin growth, the company said.
Volumes expanded sharply. MHCV sales rose 23 per cent to 32,929 units, while LCV volumes climbed 30 per cent to 20,518 units, outpacing industry growth, according to Vahan data. Export volumes increased 20 per cent to 4,965 units.
Ashok Leyland’s net cash position strengthened to Rs 2,619 crore, nearly triple the level a year earlier.
Commenting on the results, executive chairman Dheeraj Hinduja, said market conditions remained favourable and growth momentum was expected to continue across MHCV, LCV and defence businesses. He added that the company is advancing a structured pipeline of new products across conventional and alternative propulsion platforms.
Hinduja said the electric vehicle arm, Switch Mobility, has begun international bus deliveries, holds a healthy order book, and posted positive Ebitda and Pat over the first nine months.
Shares of Ashok Leyland fell 2.21 per cent to Rs 205.09 on the NSE following the earnings announcement.
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UK’s OnlyFans seeks US investor at $3bn valuation after owner’s death
The adult video platform is seeking stability after the death of its billionaire owner
LONDON: OnlyFans is looking for a new partner. The London-based adult video platform is in advanced talks to sell a minority stake of less than 20 per cent to Architect Capital, a San Francisco-based investment firm, in a deal that would value the business at more than $3bn (£2.2bn).
The move is driven by an urgent need for stability. Leonid Radvinsky, the Ukrainian-American billionaire who owned OnlyFans, died of cancer last month at the age of 43, leaving the future of one of Britain’s most profitable privately held businesses suddenly uncertain.
The choice of Architect Capital is not arbitrary. The firm has deep expertise in financial services, which aligns neatly with OnlyFans’ ambitions to offer banking products to its creators, many of whom have long struggled to access basic financial services because of the nature of their work.
The numbers behind OnlyFans are, by any measure, staggering. The platform posted revenues of $1.4bn in the year to 30th November 2024, with a pre-tax profit of $684m, up four per cent on the prior year. Payments to creators totalled $7.2bn over the same period, a rise of nearly ten per cent. Radvinsky personally collected $701m in dividends from the business in 2024 alone, on top of more than $1bn in such payments he had already received. The platform, run through its parent company Felix International, hosts 4.6m creator accounts, with performers keeping 80 per cent of subscription proceeds and the platform pocketing the remaining 20 per cent. It has 377m fan accounts in total.
The current minority stake talks represent a notable scaling back of ambitions. In January, OnlyFans was reported to be in discussions with Architect about selling a majority stake of 60 per cent. Before that, the company had explored a sale to a consortium led by Forest Road Company, a Los Angeles-based investment firm. Neither deal materialised.
OnlyFans has built an enormously lucrative business on content that mainstream finance has long refused to touch. Now, with its owner gone and a $3bn valuation on the table, it is looking for the kind of respectable institutional backing that might finally persuade the banks to take its calls.
