Maruti Suzuki stock slips to fresh 52-week low after flat sales growth

The stock price of Maruti Suzuki, country’s biggest car maker slipped to a fresh 52-week low today after the company reported a growth of less than a per cent in domestic sales for the month of September. Ahead of the festive season in October, September was anticipated to be a month of high growth in sales.

The Suzuki promoted company, which sells every second car in the country, sold 151,512 units of passenger vehicles (cars, vans and utility vehicles) to dealerships, showing a growth of just 0.7 in domestic sales. The company’s mini segment, under which cars like Alto and WagonR are sold, reported a decline of nine per cent to 34,971 units. The compact segment, under which best sellers like Baleno and Swift are sold, reported a sub-two per cent growth to 74,011 units.

The stock price of the country’s most valuable auto maker, which hit an all time high of Rs 10,000 in December last year, is now down over 27 per cent, wiping out several billions of Rupees in market cap. The company’s announcement of sales number for September did not explain the reason behind the low growth in September.

This low growth comes after a decline of three per cent in August when the company said sales were ‘adversely affected due to severe floods in Kerala and heavy rains in other parts of the country’. The numbers of Maruti Suzuki will have a bearing on the industry’s overall performance in the month of September.

An industry executive said there is a visible stress in the market as the record high fuel price has impacted sentiments among buyers. He also said that the ongoing Shradh (a period considered inauspicious for new purchases across many states) has slowed down demand and traction is expected post Navratri which begins on October 10.