Tyremaker Ceat's Q2 net slumps 81% on higher input costs, revenue up 18.1%

Ceat's revenue from operations rose 18.1% to Rs 28.94 billion in the quarter

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Indian tyremaker Ceat Ltd reported a bigger-than-expected 81.4% tumble in second-quarter profit on Monday, hurt by higher input costs.

Consolidated net profit fell to 78.3 million Indian rupees ($955,811) in the three months ended Sept. 30, from 419.8 million rupees a year earlier.

Analysts, on average, had expected the company's profit to drop 51% to 207.6 million rupees, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

Ceat's revenue from operations rose 18.1% to 28.94 billion rupees in the quarter.

That was more than offset by a 19.3% rise in total expenses, to 28.64 billion rupees, with input costs jumping 24%.

Oil prices have risen sharply after the Russia-Ukraine conflict since the early part of this year, raising the cost of petrochemicals that are a key component in tyre manufacturing.

Last week JK Tyre and Industries Ltd posted a 23% fall in quarterly profit as its input costs shot up 20.7%. ($1 = 81.9200 Indian rupees)

 

(Reporting by Navamya Ganesh Acharya in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)