• Investment World
• eWorld
• Brand Line
• Mentor
• Life
• Brand Quest
• The New Manager
• BL Club
• Smartbuy
• Books
• Gallery

Stocks

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

Cross Currency

• Rates
  
  

Shipping

• Ports
  
  

Archives

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources
• In Focus
• In Depth
• Events 2007

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• The Hindu ePaper
• Business Line
• Business Line ePaper
• Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

Our Bureau

New Delhi, Oct. 24 Riding on buoyant semi-urban markets, low interest rates, Government stimulus and strong export numbers, Maruti Suzuki posted a 93 per cent rise in its net profit at Rs 570 crore for the quarter ended September 2009.

The net profit for the same period last fiscal was Rs 296 crore.

Net sales in the three-month period also went up 47 per cent at Rs 7,050 crore (Rs 4,806 crore).

The net profit for the half-year ended September 30, 2009 increased 51.4 per cent to Rs 1,153.5 crore over the same period last year, while the net sales rose 40.4 per cent to Rs 13,389.8 crore.

“The good results this quarter is a combination of significant rise in volumes, softening of commodity prices, besides a better product mix,” said Mr Ajay Seth, Chief Financial Officer, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.

He added that another big reason was economies of scale, as the company used its full production capacity.

In a statement to the BSE, the company added that while on volumes it remains cautiously optimistic in the near term, margins may come under pressure due to hardening of commodity prices and strengthening of the yen.

“Moving forward, we aim to ensure all our vehicles conform to the Bharat Stage IV emission norms,” he said.

During the quarter, domestic sales volume grew by 21.8 per cent to 2,09,083 units. On exports, Mr Seth said that the company is targeting 1.3 lakh units this fiscal.

“The exports comprise mostly the A-Star model, which has done very well. The others have shown some decline. These should revive in the coming quarters,” he said.

To a question on the fallout on exports in the light of withdrawal of the scrappage incentives in Europe, he said the company will now focus on non-European markets such as South-East Asia, Latin America and West Asia.

According to the company, during the first half of the current fiscal, it exported 66,419 units, almost on a par with the 70,023 units despatched for whole of 2008-09.

A-Star exports have crossed 77,700 units since its first shipment in January, said the company.

From the second quarter it is also being exported to Latin America and South Africa, branded as Celerio.

The company plans to invest about Rs 150 crore in the current fiscal on its Gurgaon plant for capacity expansion. “We will add about 70,000-90,000 units to our overall production of a million units this fiscal through this investment,” said Mr Seth.

The company is working on an expansion project that will be presented to the board in January, he added.

On the current labour unrest in the Gurgaon-Manesar auto belt where Maruti’s component suppliers are located, Mr Seth said the company’s production had not been impacted significantly.

“We have alternative sources of supply,” he said.

On Friday, Maruti Suzuki shares on the BSE were up 2.04 per cent at Rs 1,517.35 from the previous close of Rs 1,486.95.

More Stories on : Financial Performance | Cars | Maruti Udyog Ltd

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Copyright © 2009, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line