Apollo Tyres Q2 profit falls 43 pc to Rs 83 cr on weak demand in domestic mkt

Apollo Tyres on Tuesday reported 43.15 per cent decline in its consolidated net profit at Rs 83 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, hit by weak performance in the domestic market.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 146 crore for the July-September period of 2018-19.

Net sales declined to Rs 3,926 crore during the second quarter as against Rs 4,192 crore in the year-ago period, Apollo Tyres said in a statement.

The tyre major said its European operations reported single-digit growth in revenue, both in the second quarter and in first half of the fiscal.

On the other hand, the domestic revenue was impacted by the slowdown in the Indian market, especially in the original equipment (OE) segment, it added.

"Amidst challenging market conditions across the automotive sector in India, we did see positive volume growth in the replacement market, both in passenger vehicle and commercial vehicle tyre segments in India," Apollo Tyres Chairman Onkar S Kanwar said.

European operations have also reported positive volume growth, on the back of exemplary test results for winter and all-season tyres by leading auto magazines, for both Apollo and Vredestein brands, he added.

For the six months ended September 30, the company reported net profit of Rs 225 crore as against Rs 398 crore in the same period last fiscal. Net sales during the April-September period this fiscal stood at Rs 8,198 crore, as against Rs 8,442 crore in same period of 2018-19.

Shares of Apollo Tyres were trading 1.27 per cent down at Rs 183.30 apiece on the BSE.