High volumes drive Maruti net

New Delhi, Jan. 27: India's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India today reported a 17.8 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 802.2 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2014 against Rs 681.15 crore in the same period last fiscal.

Net sales during the quarter stood at Rs 12,263.14 crore, up 15.5 per cent from Rs 10,619.68 crore a year ago.

Volume sales in the quarter were up 12.4 per cent at 3,23,911 units compared with 2,88,151 units in the year-ago period, it said.

Domestic sales were at 2,95,202 units against 2,68,185 units in the same period last fiscal. The exports stood at 28,709 units compared with 19,966 units in the year-ago period. Revenue from exports was at Rs 1,224 crore during the quarter.

"Higher volumes, material cost reduction initiatives and favourable foreign exchange contributed to the bottomline during the quarter," the company said in a statement.

Maruti's chief financial officer Ajay Seth said market conditions were still weak and might take some more time for demand to pick up fully.

"The (current) situation indicates that we have to support sales with incentives ... The quantum of average discounts during the quarter across models was around Rs 21,000 per vehicle," he said, adding that the discounts were unlikely to be withdrawn before the second half of next fiscal.

Seth said the withdrawal of excise duty concessions and resultant price increase had impacted sales, particularly in the entry-level segment.

Shares of Maruti Suzuki India closed at Rs 3,685.20 per share, up 2.12 per cent from their previous close on the BSE.

Maruti Suzuki India Limited