Maruti profit falls for first time in 18 quarters amid weak sales
BENGALURU: Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, whose iconic Maruti 800 nearly four decades ago helped spur car ownership in the country, posted on Thursday a 9.8% drop in quarterly net profit, but beat analysts’ estimates helped by its cost-cutting efforts.
Net profit at India’s top-selling car maker fell to ₹2,240 crore ($305.76 million) in the quarter ended September 30 from ₹2,484 crore last year as higher crude oil prices and a weakening rupee weighed on consumer demand.
The New Delhi-based automaker’s profit fell for the first time in 18 quarters on a year-onyear basis.
Twenty one analysts on average forecast a profit of ₹2,028 crore, according to Refinitiv estimates.
The Indian unit of Japanese car maker Suzuki Motor Corp. sold 484,848 vehicles during the quarter, down 1.5% from a year earlier. Sales at home fell 0.4% to 455,400 units in the same period.
Maruti’s vehicles include the Alto 800 hatchback, sedans like Ciaz and the S-cross SUV. The automaker provides the bulk of Suzuki’s revenue, and has a market value more than that of its parent at around $28 billion.
Shares of Maruti fell by nearly 1%. The stock dropped 0.65% to end at ₹6,724.70 on BSE. During the day, it declined 2.12% to ₹6,625.
At National Stock Exchange, shares of the company slipped 0.63% to close at ₹6,725.
In terms of equity volume, 1.63 lakh shares of the company were traded on BSE and over 21 lakh shares changed hands at NSE during the day.