Escorts posts net profit of 46 cr in Q5 of extended fiscal

Company had posted a standalone profit of Rs 28 crore for October-December period of the previous fiscal

Engineering and farm equipment maker Escorts today reported a standalone profit of Rs 45.55 crore in the fifth quarter ending December 30 of its extended financial year.

The company had posted a standalone profit of Rs 28.13 crore for October-December period of the previous fiscal.

Escorts Ltd, which follows October-September fiscal, has extended its financial year by six months.i.e. to March 31, 2014. This is to to align with April-March fiscal calendar.

"Accordingly, financial year 2012-13 will close on March 31, 2014," Escorts said in a release.

Net sales of the company during the period stood review was Rs 1,154.44 crore, up from Rs 1,026 crore for the same period in the previous year.

Escorts Chairman and Managing Director Rajan Nanda said: "Increase in volumes, better product mix, product enrichment and cost savings across all verticals have been the pillars of success for the last 15 months. Escorts is strengthening its product portfolio to meet the aspirations of its customer base with higher dependency on mechanisation and technology."

The company has shown good growth of 8 per cent in the markets of North and East where it is strong and it is expected that Escorts would continue to grow over 10 per cent, Nanda said.

Shares of Escorts Ltd today closed at Rs 119.25 per on BSE, down 0.38 per cent from its previous close.