Wheels India Q4 Net up 64% at Rs 8.8 cr

Revenues up 4% to Rs 485 cr; full-year profit down 11% to Rs 28.4 cr

Wheels India, steel wheel maker for passenger cars and utility vehicles, has reported a 64.11 per cent jump in net profit at Rs 8.78 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2014.

The Chennai-based TVS Group company had reported a net profit of Rs 5.35 crore in the year-ago period.

The revenues of the company increased to Rs 485 crore in the January-March 2014 quarter from Rs 467 crore in the year-ago period, Wheels India said in a statement.

However for the full year ended March 31, 2014, the company reported a 10.8 per cent decline in net profit at Rs 28.41 crore as against Rs 31.88 crore in 2012-13.

The company's revenues also dipped to Rs 1,825 crore in 2013-14 from Rs 1,927 crore registered during the previous year.

The company's board of directors have recommended a final dividend of Rs 4.20 per share on the enhanced capital for the year 2013-14 subject to approval.

"The truck industry had its second successive year of negative growth that affected utilisation levels and growth in last fiscal," Wheels India Ltd MD Srivats Ram said.

For the year 2014-15, about Rs 70 crore has been earmarked towards capital expenditure, he said.

On the outlook for 2014-15, he said, "We expect increased investments in infrastructure projects and that should drive growth in the auto segment this year".

"On the back of overall economic recovery, we are targeting to achieve moderate growth in financial year 2014-15, both in domestic as well as exports business," he said.

The automotive industry registered a negative growth last year not only in the truck segment but also passenger car segment, he said.

Twenty-six per cent of the company's revenue was contributed from wheels for the commercial vehicle segment, while 27 per cent from the passenger car segment, 23 per cent from agriculture sector, 15 per cent from construction equipment and mining industry and five per cent from air suspension systems.

Exports formed almost 20 per cent of the revenues, he said.

"Margin did expand on exports business. We are looking to add new customers in the overseas market in all the segments that we are in. We are looking to enhance the range of products," he said.