Maruti Q2 net zooms to nearly Rs2,400 cr as compact sales boom
27 Oct 2016
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, India's top car maker, posted a net profit of Rs2,398 crore ($358 million) for the fiscal second quarter (July-September 2016-17) aided by rising volumes and demand for its more profitable compact models. That compares with a net profit of Rs1,486 crore in the previous quarter (April-June 2016-17) and Rs1,226 crore in the year-ago quarter
Net income rose over 60 per cent sequentially in the quarter ended 30 September 2016, the New Delhi-based unit of Suzuki Motor Corp said in a statement.
Maruti's profits were boosted by rising sales of more expensive compact models such as the Baleno hatchback and Vitara Brezza sport utility vehicle that Maruti introduced since the previous fiscal.
The automatic transmission variants of Maruti's popular models like the Alto mini car and Celerio hatchback also attracted sales.
The company's domestic sales increased by 18.4 per cent in the quarter, compared with the 17.8 per cent growth in industry sales.
Maruti introduced the S-Cross in August last year and Baleno in October 2015 while sales of Vitara Brezza started in March this year.
"Higher volumes leading to higher capacity utilisation, lower expenses on sales promotion and marketing and higher non-operating income contributed to increase in profits. This was partially offset by adverse foreign exchange movement," the company stated in an official release.
Maruti Suzuki sold a total of 418,470 vehicles during the quarter, a growth of 18.4 per cent over the same period of the previous year. Sales in the domestic market stood at 383,030 units, a growth of 18.5 per cent. Exports were at 35,440 units, up 17.9 per cent.
During the quarter, the company registered Net Sales (net of excise) of Rs17,595 crore, up 29.5 per cent over the previous year.
During the first half of 2017, the company sold a total of 766,913 vehicles, a growth of 10.4 per cent. Sales in the domestic market stood at 705,370 units, a growth of 12.1 per cent. Exports were at 61,543 units.
The company's net sales stood at Rs 322,806 million in April-September 2016-17, a growth of 20.9 percent over the same period last year. Net profit stood at Rs 38,842 million, up 43.6 percent.
Higher volumes, higher non-operating income and material cost reduction initiatives contributed to profit. This was partially offset by adverse foreign exchange.