Maruti Suzuki posts 26% rise in Q3 profit at Rs 1,997 crore; revenue up 13%

Auto major Maruti Suzuki, on Thursday, reported a 25.8 per cent year-on-year growth in consolidated profit at Rs 1,996.7 crore for the December quarter of FY21 (Q3FY21) while revenue rose 13.26 per cent to Rs 23,471.3 crore. In comparison, the company had posted revenue of Rs 20,721.8 crore and profit of Rs 1,586.9 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year.

On a standalone basis, Maruti's revenue came in at Rs 23,458 crore while profit after tax (PAT) stood at Rs 1,941.4 crore.

Analysts at HDFC Securities had expected Maruti's revenues to grow by 14 per cent YoY to Rs 23,700 crore, and PAT to grow 15 per cent YoY to Rs 1,810 crore. READ EXPECTATIONS HERE

Sales performance

During the quarter, Maruti sold a total of 4.95 lakh vehicles, up 13.4 per cent on YoY basis. Sales in the domestic market stood at 4.67 units, higher by 13 per cent YoY. Exports were at 28,528 units, up by 20.6 per cent.

Operating performance

Maruti's Q3 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and ammortisation (Ebitda) came in at Rs 2,226 crore, up 6 per cent YoY, while Ebitda margin for the quarter stood at 9.5 per cent against 10.1 per cent reported in Q3FY20.

The company said that improved capacity utilisation, lower sales promotion expenses, cost reduction efforts and higher value gains on invested surplus contributed positively to the margin movement. On the other hand, adverse commodity prices, unfavorable product mix, and adverse foreign exchange fluctuation had a negative impact.

Meanwhile, Maruti's realisations for the quarter under review came in at Rs 4.73 lakh/unit while its tax expense grew to Rs 508.4 crore from Rs 441.6 crore in the year-ago quarter.

Stock reaction

Maruti Suzuki's stock slid 3.6 per cent from the day's high to Rs 7,687.05 after the announcement of the quarterly results. At 1:58 PM, the stock was trading 1.86 per cent down at Rs 7,720 as compared to 1.27 per cent decline in the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex.