BENGALURU, India ― India's Bajaj Auto reported its biggest margin expansion in three quarters on Tuesday, also boosting profit, as it sold more expensive motorcycles and margin-boosting three-wheelers.

The Pulsar and Triumph motorcycle maker is India's fourth-largest two-wheeler manufacturer and leads sales in the premium 125cc-400cc motorcycle segments.In the quarter ended June 30, Bajaj Auto's sales in the segment ― which includes the Pulsar range ― grew a market-leading 38 percent, according to industry data, pushing its total two-wheeler sales volume 7 percent higher.Sales of three-wheelers, which cost less to make than other vehicles, grew roughly 10 percent in the first quarter.This helped its core profit margin grow to 20.2 percent from 19 percent last year ― its largest margin expansion since the quarter ended September 2023.Bajaj Auto reported its fifth-straight quarterly profit growth, with standalone profit after tax rising nearly 20 percent year on year to 19.88 billion rupees ($238 million) as exports recovered.Analysts had expected 19.84 billion rupees, per LSEG data.Exports, which had bottomed out in fiscal 2024 amid currency-related issues in Bajaj Auto's key African markets, climbed nearly 7 percent. This accounted for around 37 percent of its total overall sales volume.The segment's sales volume had dropped 10 percent for fiscal 2024.The last time Bajaj Auto posted a quarterly profit drop was in the March 2023 quarter, when exports turned sluggish.