MARUTI Udyog Ltd reported a sizeable 43 per cent rise in profit in the second quarter of the fiscal, as cost cutting efforts and larger volumes helped to offset pressure of increasing raw materials prices.
The company's net profit in the quarter rose to Rs 262.66 crore from Rs 184 crore in the corresponding period last year. Net sales grew 16 per cent to Rs 3,026 crore in the second quarter of the fiscal from Rs 2,614 crore last year. In contrast, the company's expenditure on consumption of raw materials only increased by a little over one per cent.
The company's domestic sales during the second quarter grew 8.9 per cent over the corresponding period last fiscal.
According to a company release, Maruti's market share in the domestic market went up to 55.5 per cent in the quarter, from 53.4 per cent in the corresponding period last year.
In all, the company sold 140,543 vehicles during the quarter, including 11,880 units of exports.
Sales have been helped by the launch of the premium hatchback Swift in May. According to sources, Maruti is planning to increase production of the Swift by about 1,000 units per month in order to clear the order backlog for the model.
Meanwhile, in the first half of the fiscal, Maruti's net profit stood at Rs 489.12 crore, up 38 per cent over April-September 2004.
Maruti's stock price, however, closed at Rs 515.45 on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Friday, down 3.08 per cent over Thursday's closing.
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