Austrian bikemaker KTM turned Ebitda-positive in the January-March quarter, the first full quarter since Bajaj Auto took control of the company. The recovery was fuelled by a recovery in motorcycle demand and the company’s cost-cutting initiatives.
Filings by parent company Bajaj Mobility AG with the Austrian stock exchange showed KTM clocked earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) of €5.5 million in the March quarter, as against an Ebitda loss of €55.8 million a year earlier. Revenue jumped 70% to €331 million as motorcycle sales more than doubled to 40,332 units, while net loss improved to €35.1 million from €108 million in the year-ago period. Ebitda is a financial metric used to evaluate a company's operating performance by stripping away the effects of financing, accounting, and tax.
While the company made an €874 million Ebitda profit in calendar year 2025 owing to a-one time restructuring gain of €1.2 billion, this is the first quarter it has made a profit from its operations since filing for bankruptcy in November 2024.
The turnaround is significant for Bajaj Auto, which is looking to premium bike brands to boost profitability and take on the likes of TVS’s Norton and Eicher Motors’ Royal Enfield. In fact, Bajaj Auto’s efforts to turn KTM’s fortunes around coincide with those of TVS Motor Company to revive premium British bike brand Norton, which will roll out several products this financial year.
TVS Norton is yet to report any sales numbers while Royal Enfield saw exports decline 2% to 32,126 units in the March quarter.
Extensive restructuring
The improving financials at KTM follow a series of cost-cutting measures, including a review of supplier chains, reducing stock at dealers, discontinuing some brands, and layoffs.
“As part of the restructuring, additional measures to improve efficiency were implemented, including a workforce reduction of 500 employees, which is expected to be completed by Q3/26. For 2026, the focus will be on continuing the restructuring and improving profitability,” the company said in its earnings report.
In an interview with Mint last month, Bajaj Auto’s executive director Rakesh Sharma had said there was a substantial opportunity to improve KTM’s profitability. “Our support to them started with the first phase, where we had to get the liquidity organized. The second was putting in the top management. The third phase is now the execution of the turnaround plan, one important constituent of which is reduction in costs, and capturing of synergies, which has got several work streams,” Sharma said in the interview.
‘More than mere volume growth’
Amit Kaushik, founder of Mobidx Ai, an automotive-focused intelligence and analytics firm in New Delhi, said, “KTM’s post-takeover performance under Bajaj reflects far more than volume growth. Global motorcycle sales and revenues have nearly doubled, while the business has also returned to Ebitda profitability,”
“The turnaround appears to be driven by stronger channel strengthening, sharper execution, and a far more disciplined approach to profitability management at scale,” he added.
Sharma had previously said that Bajaj was playing more of a supervisory role to help steer KTM’s turnaround, ensuring that the company operated with independent leadership that adhered to the best governance practices.
“It's a very premier European and prestigious sports bike manufacturer with a very deep positioning, and we wanted to retain that and [let it] run independently,” Sharma added.
Shares of Bajaj Auto are up 7% so far in calendar year 2026, as against a 9% decline in the Nifty Auto index.
Two-decade partnership
Pune-based Bajaj Auto began its partnership with KTM in 2007, when it picked up a 14.5% stake for ₹300 crore. It increased its stake to 75% in May 2025 in a deal valued at €800 million. This followed KTM's bankruptcy filing in November 2024, which was triggered by a sales slump and heavy margin pressure from rising operational costs.
Bajaj infused €600 million into the company through a €450-million loan and €150 million in convertible bonds, while €200 million had been invested since FY24. It gained full control of the company in November 2025 after receiving the required regulatory approvals.
KTM secured a €550-million loan from a consortium of banks including JPMorgan, HSBC, DBS Bank and MUFG Bank in February to refinance debt taken from Bajaj Auto.
