Ceat net grows 30% to Rs 107 cr

Net sales fell to Rs 1,399 cr during the same quarter, a decrease of 2%

Tyre manufacturer Ceat today posted 30 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 107 crore for the quarter ended September 30 as against Rs 82 crore posted in the same quarter last year.

Net sales fell to Rs 1,399 crore during the same quarter, a decrease of 2 per cent as compared to Rs 1,425 crore posted in the same quarter last year.

The quarter also witnessed the Phase II launch of its Halol plant in September 2015, which brings an increase of close to 1 lakh tyres per month in Ceat's production capacity in passenger car radial and utility vehicle radial segment.

The ramp-up of Halol phase II would happen over a period of next 18 months to achieve a terminal capacity of little over 4.5 lakh tyres per month, which would take up the total capacity a little over 7.5 lakh tyres per month.

In Q2 Ceat's OEM segment started catering to recently launched Mahindra TUV 3OO and Renault KWID models respectively.

Anant Goenka, Managing Director, Ceat, said: "The dips in crude and rubber prices were welcome, though Chinese products flooding the market impacted the industry last quarter and our top line to a certain extent. However, margins improved largely due to lower raw material cost coupled with improving product mix."