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India's Mahindra Q1 net profit vs loss

NEW DELHI, July 29 (Reuters) - India's largest tractor and utility-vehicle maker, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, reported on Monday a net profit of 77.98 million rupees ($1.6 million) for April-June versus a loss of 296.2 million rupees a year earlier.

After the announcement, Mahindra's shares were down 2.1 percent at 92 rupees on the Bombay Stock Exchange, whose benchmark index was down 1.1 percent.

Bombay-based Mahindra said in a statement it earned 0.67 rupees per share in the first quarter.

Net sales rose nearly 21 percent -- to 8.28 billion rupees from 6.85 billion rupees a year ago.

At the end of the past year to March, Mahindra had a 26.2 percent share of the Indian tractor market, the world's largest, 47.5 percent of the utility vehicle market and a 11.5 percent share in the small truck and bus segment.

In the past year to March, Mahindra's net profit dropped 20 percent to 969.15 million rupees on net sales that fell 7.5 percent to 32.73 billion rupees.

India's tractor sales have slid in the past two years owing to unevenly distributed rains in 2001 and poor crop prices that hurt farm incomes. (US$1 = 48.73 Indian rupees)