India’s second-largest motorcycle maker, Bajaj Auto said that its net profit rose three times in the third quarter this fiscal to Rs 475 crore, from Rs 164 crore same quarter last year. The strong performance comes as strong sales backed by the economic recovery offset the price rise of raw materials.

The revenue for the quarter ended December 2009 recorded a 57% growth to Rs 3,295 crore against Rs 2,140.98 crore in the same period last fiscal. There was a steep rise in the price of raw material in the quarter, which significantly impacted the costs for the auto maker. The raw material costs grew from 66.2% in the second quarter to 68.5% in the third as share of the operating income.

Kevin D’sa, vice-president finance said, “However, due to higher volumes and by leveraging fixed cost and cost management, we were able to achieve operating margin at 22% during the third quarter, against 14.5% last year.”

The Pune based maker of two wheelers sold 809,218 units in the third quarter recording a 64% increase over the same quarter last year. Low liquidity and slow demand has impacted the sales for the company during the 2008 as the global economy faced recessionary trends, however with the recovery in the economy the demand has picked up and sales are higher.

The low base effect and the festive season have pushed up the growth rate for the company. With competitors like Hero Honda in the segment Bajaj has managed to regain a market share of
27% in the December quarter from 22% in 2008-09. According to some analysts, bigger and sportier’ two wheelers have helped the company raise its market share.

Exports from the firm recorded a 27% growth to 2.73 lakh units in the quarter. While an improved cash flow resulted in cash equivalents of Rs 2,625 crore with the company.

Baja’s new Pulsar 135 LS is expected to get a good market response while helping Pulsar brand reach one million in sales per year.

Shares of Bajaj Auto ended 1.7%, up at Rs 1,698.10 on BSE on Tuesday