JK Tyre Q1 net profit falls 52%

JK Tyre & Industries today reported 52.07 per cent decline in net profit to Rs 19.53 crore for the quarter ended June 30 due to rising input costs.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 40.75 crore in the corresponding period of last year, JK Tyre said in a statement.

The total income in the first quarter, however, increased by 29.67 per cent to Rs 1,167.97 crore from Rs 900.70 crore in the year-ago period, it added.

"It was a very challenging quarter as natural rubber prices are increasing unabated. The tyre prices could not keep pace with the cost increases. This has affected profitability for the quarter," JK Tyre & Industries Vice Chairman and Managing Director Raghupati Singhania said.

On account of increased natural rubber prices, the tyre industry has raised product rates by about 10 per cent in the last seven months of this year. The industry had hinted that if the upward trend of natural rubber prices is not checked, tyre prices could witness up to 25 per cent increase during the entire financial year.