Maruti Q4 net profit soars 80% at Rs 1,148 cr

Net sales up 9.4% at Rs 12,567 cr; announces dividend of Rs 8 per share

Country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India today reported 79.4% jump in its standalone net profit for the quarter ended March 31 at Rs 1,147.5 crore, mainly on the account of good sales of models like Ertiga, DZire and Swift.

The company had registered a net profit of Rs 639.8 crore during the corresponding period last year, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said in a statement.

The company's standalone net sales during the fourth quarter of the last fiscal went up by 9.4% to Rs 12,566.6 crore from Rs 11,486.4 crore in the year-ago period, it added.

During January-March period, MSI sold a total of 3,43,709 vehicles, down 4.6% from 3,60,334 units in the same period last year.

Commenting on the numbers, MSI said, "The increase in net profit during the quarter was on account of higher sales of new models such as Ertiga, DZire and Swift; cost reduction and localisation efforts, and the benefit of a favourable exchange rate."

For the entire 2012-13 financial year, MSI posted a rise of 40.7% in its standalone net profit at Rs 2,300 crore as against Rs 1,635.1 crore in the previous fiscal, the statement said.

The company's standalone net sales went up by 21.4% to Rs 42,122.9 crore in FY13 from Rs 34,705.9 crore in FY12, it added.

Total vehicle sales of the company during last fiscal fell by 3.3% to 11,71,434 units from 11,33,695 units in 2011-12.

During its meeting today, the Board of Directors recommended a dividend of 160%, which is Rs 8 per share of face value Rs 5 for 2012-13. The dividend in 2011-12 was at 150%, the statement said.