Maruti smashes forecasts with 80 pct rise in Q4 net

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, India's biggest carmaker by sales, reported a 79.8 percent rise in fourth-quarter net profit, boosted by strong sales of its Ertiga multi-purpose vehicle that offset a slump in compact cars.

Also benefiting from a sharp decline in the value of the yen as imports from Japan count for 20 percent of its costs, Maruti beat market estimates with profit of 11.48 billion rupees for the January-March period, excluding the impact of a merger with its engine production unit.

Analysts on average had expected profit of 7.22 billion rupees, according to data from Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Net sales for Maruti, which is controlled by Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp , rose 9.4 percent to 125.7 billion rupees.

MPVs and sports-utility vehicles were the only segments to see sales soar last year, helped by a trend towards more bulky cars for India's often poorly maintained and traffic-clogged roads, and generous government subsidies on diesel, the segments' primary fuel.

(Reporting by Henry Foy; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)