Country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India on Wednesday announced a 47.46 per cent jump in standalone net profit at Rs 1,744.5 crore for the December quarte on the back of increased share in higher segment models, lower sales and promotion expenses, and cost reduction exercise.
The company had posted a net profit of Rs 1,183 crore in the same quarter last fiscal, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said in a statement.
Total income from operations during the quarter under review stood at Rs 19,173.1 crore as against Rs 16,957.6 crore in the year-ago period, up 13.06 per cent.
Unit volume sales during the period stood at 3,87,251 units, up 3.5 per cent, over same period a year ago. Of this, exports stood at 30,748 units, it said.
Commenting on the results, MSI said: “Increase in share of the company’s higher segment models, lower sales promotion and marketing expense, cost reduction efforts and higher non-operating income contributed to increase in profits.”
This was, however, partially offset by the increase in commodity prices and adverse foreign exchange movement during the quarter, it added.
For the nine month period ended December 31, the company said it sold a total of 1,154,164 vehicles, a growth of 8 per cent. Out of this, exports stood at 92,291 units.
Shares of MSI were trading 0.62 per cent higher at Rs 5,775 apiece on BSE. later, addressing analysts on a concall, MSI CFO Ajay Seth said the company’s compact SUV Vitara Brezza has helped it in increasing market share in utility vehicle segment to 28 per cent during the quarter from 18 per cent in the year ago-period.
On the discount front, he said, although it is generally high in the December quarter, this fiscal it was at an average of Rs 19,040 across the models as against Rs 21,997 in the same quarter last fiscal.
On the impact of demonetisation on sales, company officials said immediately after it was announced in November there was drop in inquiry and bookings, but it has since recovered gradually through December and January.
While there has been an increase in first time buyers and government employees, there has been a decrease in purchase from small time traders or businessmen.
The officials, however, said it would be clearer only after the end of January to understand by when the situation would return to normalcy.