Mahindra net dips 14% to Rs 808 cr as tractor weakness lingers

Despite a healthy growth in sales, homegrown auto major Mahindra and Mahindra today reported a 14.13 per cent decline in standalone net profit at Rs 807.99 crore for the quarter through December, hit by weak sales in the tractor segment.
Net sales during the reporting period rose to Rs 10,900.39 crore, up 17.1 per cent from Rs 9,310.41 crore in the year-ago quarter.
Executive Director Pawan Goenka attributed the fall in bottomline to the weakness in the tractor market.
Tractor sales have been subdued with a de-growth of 1.5 per cent in the current quarter on account of lower kharif output and a lower rabi sowing than last year, which impacted the income and sentiments of the farming community, Goenka said.

Mahindra, along with its wholly-owned arm Mahindra Vehicle Manufacturers, sold 58,660 utility vehicles, while tractor sales stood at 59,883 units in the domestic market.
Noting the increasing competition, Goenka said the company would try to maintain its share at about 40 per cent but cannot expect a significant growth in the same.

He said while a slowdown has been witnessed in terms of vehicle demand in rural areas, M&M has not witnessed any significant shift for its vehicle demand from rural to urban market.
Goenka observed that monsoon was crucial to change the subdued sentiments among its rural customers, adding that a bad monsoon and a "harsh" decision by the Supreme Court to impose barriers on certain high-end vehicles could adversely impact the company's business.

"We will continue to have aggressive growth plans and do not plan to get into new verticals for the next couple of years," Goenka said, adding the company would focus on the agriculture business and the products it has launched in the near-term.
"With the macro policy environment now turning more supportive and El Nino conditions, along with its adverse impacts on agricultural output and incomes set to dissipate, domestic consumer demand is likely to gain strength in the coming years," the company said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Goenka said the government is likely to focus on the agriculture sector in upcoming Budget and would try to put more disposable income in the hands of the farmers.

Mahindra shares closed 2.3 per cent down at Rs 1,100 on the BSE against a flat close of the index with a positive bias today.