Apollo Tyres Q2 net up about 18%

Apollo Tyres today reported 17.52% increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 257.94 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2014-15 driven by higher exports.

The company had reported net profit of Rs 219.47 crore in the July-September quarter of 2013-14.

Its net sales in Q2 of the current fiscal were Rs 3,300.64 crore, down 3.86%, compared to Rs 3,433.45 crore in the year ago period, the company said in a BSE filing.

Apollo Tyres Ltd Chairman Onkar S Kanwar said: "Our 18-24 months of planning and smart execution has resulted in incremental exports out of India, and with additional demand for our products in the Middle East and ASEAN region, we expect this to grow further.

"Taking into account the export growth, and the expected revival of the commercial vehicle segment in India, our expansion projects in Chennai and Kochi, both in the southern part of India, is moving ahead full steam."

Exports have grown over 30%, which has led to a strong performance by the Indian operations, the company said in a statement.

Apollo said sale of part of African business in the last fiscal, led to the company reporting flat revenue growth on a consolidated level in the second quarter and half year of this fiscal.

Overall expenses in Q2 were at Rs 2,928.77 crore compared with Rs 3,085.32 crore in the year-ago period.

For the first half of 2014-15, the company has logged net profit of Rs 485.8 crore, on net sales of Rs 6,536 crore.

In the first half of 2013-14, the company had reported net profit of Rs 385.4 crore and net sales of Rs 6,623 crore.

Apollo Tyres scrip closed at Rs 236.05, up 1.29%, on the BSE.