Ather Energy has reported its first quarterly profit after a year-ago loss and plans to add 2.25 lakh units to its annual production capacity as demand for electric two-wheelers rises in India. The Bengaluru-based company’s shares climbed nearly 14 per cent to ₹1,575 on Monday after it released its September-quarter results and expansion plans.
Ather posted a consolidated profit after tax of ₹1.26 crore in the quarter, compared with a loss of ₹154 crore in the same period a year earlier. Consolidated total income increased 62 per cent year-on-year to ₹1,527 crore, while volumes grew 42 per cent to 93,211 units.
The company reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of ₹74.2 crore, marking its second consecutive EBITDA-positive quarter. Its EBITDA margin improved to 4.9 per cent from minus 9.6 per cent in the year-ago quarter. Ather attributed the improvement to higher volumes, a better product mix and cost discipline. Adjusted gross margin rose 160 basis points year-on-year to 24 per cent despite elevated commodity costs.
Ather plans to invest around ₹122 crore to expand capacity at its Hosur facility in Tamil Nadu and its upcoming AURIC plant in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Maharashtra. Hosur’s annual capacity will increase by 75,000 units to 4.95 lakh units by December. The AURIC facility, which has an initial annual capacity of five lakh units, is planned to receive an additional 1.5 lakh units of capacity by the second quarter of FY28.
Together, the expansion is expected to take Ather’s installed annual capacity to about 11.4 lakh units by the second quarter of FY28. The company said demand continued to exceed supply during the quarter, with customer enquiries rising 109 per cent year-on-year to about 10 lakh and pre-orders more than doubling to 1.8 lakh units. Hosur operated at 98 per cent capacity utilisation during peak production.
“Demand has more than doubled year-on-year this quarter, and to meet it, we are further augmenting our production capacity at Hosur and AURIC,” Tarun Mehta, co-founder and chief executive officer of Ather Energy, said.
The company is also seeking to increase revenue from services beyond vehicle sales. Non-vehicle revenue, including software subscriptions, charging, accessories and services, accounted for 15 per cent of revenue from operations, compared with 12 per cent a year earlier.
Ather recently launched the Konarc, its first scooter on the new EL platform. The model expands the company’s portfolio beyond the performance-focused 450 series and the family-oriented Rizta. The company’s capacity plans come as India’s electric two-wheeler registrations rose 82 per cent year-on-year to a record 5.98 lakh units in the second quarter, with electric models accounting for 11.2 per cent of registrations, according to Vahan data.
The Hosur capacity increase is scheduled for completion by December, while the additional AURIC capacity is expected to come on stream by the second quarter of FY28.
