Apollo Tyres net down 27%

Apollo Tyres today posted 26.9 per cent decline in net profit to Rs 192.3 crore in the quarter ended March, compared to the same period last financial year, primarily on account of high input cost.

The company also announced a dividend of 50 paisa per share of Re 1 each for the year amounting to Rs 25.2 crore. “The cost push has impacted our bottom line. While price increases have been resorted to, the lag effect impacts margins. This trend of high prices is expected to continue for the next few months,” Chairman Onkar S Kanwar said.

He said availability of natural rubber is currently a cause of concern. Natural rubber prices have hit a record high of Rs 242 per kg this year, an increase of 70 per cent over the previous year, the firm said.

During the quarter, the tyre maker had a net sales of Rs 2,729.5 crore, a 27.4 increase from Rs 2,143.3 crore posted in the corresponding quarter last financial year. Net profit declined 32.6 per cent to Rs 44.02 crore from Rs 65.3 crore posted in the year-ago period.

Net sales stood at Rs 8,867.7 crore, a 9.2 per cent increase from Rs 8,120.7 crore recorded in the same period last year.

“This has been an extremely challenging year of spiralling raw material prices, especially natural rubber, and closures for over a quarter in one of our Indian plants, and an industry-wide strike in South Africa. These resulted in production and sales losses,” Kanwar said.