Ceat net profit dips marginally to Rs 62 crore on higher taxes

The fourth largest tyre maker Ceat today reported a marginal drop in consolidated net profit to Rs 62.1 crore for the quarter to March, from Rs 64.9 crore in the year-ago period, on higher tax outgo.
The RPG Group flagship paid nearly double the amount of taxes in the reporting quarter at Rs 31.2 crore from Rs 19.4 crore a year ago.
Its net sales rose to Rs 1,443.8 crore in the quarter from Rs 1,334.42 crore.
However, for the full year, its net profit soared by 126 per cent to Rs 271 crore, driven by higher sales and stable raw material prices which helped it improve margins by a healthy 320 basis points in the quarter to March.

Despite a marginal 3.5 per cent growth in auto sales, the company saw its full year revenue jump 10 per cent on higher sales driven by adding new customers like Hero MotorCorp, Bajaj and Mahindras, while its replacement market grew 11 per cent and OEM sales surged by 19 per cent.
"While the auto industry grew a meagre 3.5 per cent, Ceat grew 10 per cent. Our sales have grown better than the industry. We saw a rise of 11 per cent in the replacement market, while OEM sales surged by 19 per cent," Ceat's Managing Director Anant Goenka said.

On a consolidated basis, the full year revenue rose 10 per cent to Rs 5,508 crore, while on a stand alone basis, the doemsitc operations reported revenue of Rs 5,304 crore and net income rise of 139 per cent at Rs 254 crore for the year while the domestic margins stood at 11.7 per cent.
The decline in raw material prices that started last fiscal also helped the numbers, as the full impact was witnessed this fiscal, he added.
He attributed the good set of numbers to the all-round growth in business both in the domestic market as well in Sri Lanka, where is the market leader with over 50 per cent market share.