Apollo Tyres profits skid 66 pc to Rs 84 crore in March quarter of FY19

Onkar Kanwar-led Apollo Tyres on Thursday reported 66 per cent fall in profit after tax of Rs 84 crore compared to Rs 250 crore in the fourth quarter of 2018-19 compared to the same period a year ago.

The loss was mainly due to the high raw material prices and the write-off for IL & FS, the company said in a statement.

Net sales of the company grew by 5 per cent year-on-year to Rs 4,176 crore during the quarter as against Rs 3,982 crore in the same quarter of last year.

Both Indian and European operations continued with their growth momentum, registering double digit revenue growth led by a strong performance in the commercial vehicle segment in India and the passenger vehicle category in Europe.

Apollo Tyres holds unsecured, short term inter-corporate deposit of Rs 200 crore with IL & FS Financial Services. The deposit was due for maturity on October 22 last year but IL & FS defaulted on its repayment. The entire amount of Rs 200 crore has been written off, of which Rs 100 crore was provided for up to December 31, 2018.

The board of director has recommended a final dividend of Rs 3.25 per equity share of face value of Re 1 each.

"Considering the headwinds, we have managed a healthy volume growth across geographies for the full year, as well as, in the fourth quarter of 2018-19," said Chairman Onkar S Kanwar. "The bottom line has been impacted, especially in fourth quarter due to the write-off for IL & FS."

He added: "In India, with the green shoots already visible in the replacement market, we are optimistic about the overall sales picking up post the elections. European operations, on the other hand, will continue with its strong performance on the back of increased supplies from Hungary."

For entire fiscal 2018-19, revenue from operations totalled Rs 17,273 crore compared to Rs 14,929 crore in the previous year while profit was Rs 679 crore compared to Rs 724 crore in FY 18.

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