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India's Maruti Suzuki smashes forecasts with 80 pct rise in Q4 net

MUMBAI, April 26 (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 ($212 million) 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. ($1 = 54.1900 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Henry Foy; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)