Maruti Suzuki India on Thursday announced 20.69 per cent increase in its net profit at Rs 762.28 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2014-15 on the back of robust sales, cost reduction and forex gains.
It had posted net profit of Rs 631.60 crore in the same period of 2013-14, MSI said in a statement. Net sales during Q1, 2014-15 stood at Rs 11,073.51 crore, up 10.78 per cent as against Rs 9,995.12 crore in the April- June quarter of last fiscal.
“We started the quarter with low consumer sentiments, high inflation and other economic factors that affected the economy last year but after elections consumer sentiments changed and turned positive,” MSI Chief Financial Officer Ajay Seth said in a conference call with analysts.
With return of the first-time buyer post-elections, the company’s top selling model Alto crossed the 30,000 mark in June, while WagonR went past the 17,000 market for the first time, he said.
MSI sold 2,99,894 vehicles during Q1, a growth of 12.6 per cent over the year-ago period. Sales in the domestic market stood at 2,70,643 units, up 10.3 per cent. Exports were at 29,251 units, up 38.7 per cent.
The company said its cost reduction and localisation initiatives, growth in volumes and favourable foreign exchange helped improve the bottomline during the quarter.
The company is gearing up for a launch programme for a slew of products, including mid sized sedan Ciaz and an lCV along with compact SUV, in the next 12 months to strengthen its hold in the domestic market.
“We are poised for entering into a strong product launch cycle, including Ciaz and an lCV (light commercial vehicle) and refreshes of existing models in the next 12 months from now,” Maruti Suzuki India Vice-President Rahul Bharti told analysts in a conference call.