Q4 numbers drive up Maruti Udyog

DALAL STREET SPIKES

A recovery on the bourses and strong fourth-quarter results lifted the share price of Maruti Udyog Ltd (MUL) on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Tuesday.

The stock, in intra-day trades, touched a high of Rs 455.50 before closing at Rs 447.15, up 11.79 per cent from its previous close. The counter witnessed a volume of more than 45.85 lakh shares on the BSE.

Sector analysts said the company's fourth-quarter results are in line with the expectation with the stock trading at a PE ratio of 23 to today's close.

The company, for the quarter ended March 31, 2004, reported a 192 per cent growth in net profit to Rs 157.15 crore as against Rs 53.68 crore in the same quarter last year. MUL's total income (net of excise) rose 32.9 per cent to Rs 2,987.03 crore.

For the financial year ended March 31, 2004, the company's net profit surged 270 per cent to Rs 542.18 crore (Rs 146.44 crore).

However, there were few analysts who were of the view that MUL's results were slightly below expectations.