Bengaluru: Electric scooter maker Ather Energy reported an 87% jump in revenue for the June quarter as higher sales and improved operating efficiency helped narrow its losses.The company’s loss shrank to Rs 51 crore in the first quarter from Rs 178 crore a year earlier, while its revenue rose to Rs 1,260 crore from Rs 673 crore. Ather also posted its first positive quarterly earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of Rs 9 crore, compared with an Ebitda loss of Rs 106 crore in the year-ago period.Ather sold 83,173 scooters to dealers during the quarter, up 81% year-on-year. Retail registrations more than doubled to 90,808 units, while customer enquiries rose 95% to over seven lakh. Paid pre-orders surged 158% to 1.5 lakh.Chief executive Tarun Mehta said demand outstripped the company’s manufacturing capacity, with its existing Hosur plant operating close to full utilisation.“We believe that of the 30,000 units that we retailed on average every month in Q1, we could probably have sold an additional 13,000-15,000 units every month if capacity had been available,” Mehta said during the earnings call.Dealer inventory declined to 11 days from 14 days in the previous quarter, prompting the company to slow the rollout of new retail outlets and prioritise supplies to existing dealers.Ather’s Hosur factory currently has the capacity to produce around 35,000 scooters a month. The first phase of its new manufacturing facility at Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, with an annual capacity of five lakh vehicles, is expected to begin production in the December quarter, taking the company’s total annual manufacturing capacity to 9.2 lakh units. Ather said it could accelerate the second phase of expansion if demand remains strong.Margins, however, came under pressure from higher input costs, including aluminium, copper, lithium and crude-linked materials. Adjusted gross margin declined to 22.4% from 25.4% in the March quarter despite price hikes and a richer product mix. The company’s average selling price rose to around Rs 1.61 lakh in June.Looking ahead, Ather will unveil the first scooter built on its new EL platform this month end. Production trials are already under way at the Hosur plant, with the model aimed at a broader, more price-sensitive segment of the market.
