Nov 13 Reuters India39;s Eicher Motors, which makes the Royal Enfield brand of motorcycles, reported a biggerthanexpected quarterly profit on Wednesday, helped by increased sales of its highercapacity models such as the 39;Himalayan39;.

The company said its net profit rose 8.3 yearonyear to 11 billion rupees 130.40 million in the three months to Sept. 30.

That beat analysts39; average estimate of 10.66 billion rupees, as per data compiled by LSEG.

Eicher logged a morethan36 yearoveryear rise in the quarter for the sale of its motorcycles with engine capacity above 350cc such as the 39;Interceptor 65039;, helped by demand from its main demographic, urban consumers.

These higher margin motorcycles accounted for 15.3 of total sales, compared to 11.1 a year earlier.

This countered the 12 fall in domestic sales of motorcycles of engine capacity up to 350cc like the 39;Hunter 35039;, which make for a majority of its sales.

Total revenue from operations, rose 3.6 to 42.63 billion rupees in the quarter.

Eicher, which also makes trucks and buses in a joint venture with the Volvo Group, said total expenses rose 5.8 to 22.69 billion rupees.

Rival Bajaj Auto posted a 21 rise in secondquarter adjusted profit last month, while Hero Motocorp is due to report its quarterly results on Thursday.

Eicher39;s shares closed down 3.2 before quarterly results were reported.

1 84.3570 Indian rupees

Reporting by Meenakshi Maidas in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D39;Souza and Mrigank…