Maruti Q4 net up 65% to Rs 259 cr

MIXED BAG OF RESULTS

Net profit for 2004-05 grew 57.44%, while total income grew 19.68%.

Maruti Udyog Ltd, India's largest carmaker, today reported a 65 per cent jump in its fourth quarter (January-March) net profit from Rs 157.15 crore in 2003-04 to Rs 259.45 crore in 2004-05.

"Higher sales and the success of our in-house productivity improvement programme have boosted our bottom line. With higher localisation and aggressive cost reduction by our suppliers, we were able to absorb some of the adverse impact of higher input costs," said Jagdish Khattar, managing director of Maruti Udyog.

The car maker's fourth quarter total income increased 9.3 per cent to Rs 3,142.10 crore in 2004-05 from Rs 2,874.70 crore in 2003-04.

The company's net profit for 2004-05 grew 57.44 per cent to Rs 853.63 crore compared with Rs 542.18 crore in 2003-04. Total income grew 19.68 per cent to Rs 11,353.87 crore for 2004-05 from Rs 9,486.62 crore in financial year 2004.

"The gains from our new businesses, started two years ago, became evident this year, especially for dealers. Our dealers also invested in new facilities and helped us expand the market," said Khattar.

The consolidated net profit of the company rose 56.9 per cent to Rs 880.14 crore during 2004-05 from Rs 560.94 crore in 2003-04. Total income increased from Rs 9,597.66 crore in 2003-04 to Rs 11,498 crore in 2004-05.

The financial results were approved by the board of directors here today, which also recommended a dividend of 40 per cent.

Maruti Udyog sold 536,301 vehicles during 2004-05, the highest ever annual sales since the company began operations over 21 years ago. The annual sales, which also include exports of 48,899 units, grew 13.6 per cent over 2003-04.