Maruti Q3 net up 70 per cent
By Our Corporate Bureau | 25 Jan 2005
New Delhi: Maruti Udyog Ltd yesterday announced a 70.3 per cent jump in net profit to Rs239.66 crore in the October-December 2004 quarter compared with Rs140.75 crore in the year-ago quarter. The company's total income increased by 26.9 per cent to Rs3,016.47 crore in the third quarter of the current fiscal.
According to a company statement, the increase in prices of steel and other raw materials was "partially offset by cost reduction and value analysis and value engineering activities within the company."
The company's efforts at reducing labour costs through a voluntary retirement scheme also contributed towards the growth in profit. While the staff cost in the October-December 2003 period stood at Rs138.44 crore, it fell to Rs57.78 crore in October-December 2004. Maruti also saw higher volumes driven by sales of Alto and WagonR. Sales of the company's compact cars, Alto, Zen and WagonR, jumped by 67 per cent during April-December 2004. Overall, the company witnessed growth of about 19 per cent in total unit sales during the first nine months of the fiscal year at 3,89,541 units.