Indian carmaker Maruti Suzuki sold 495,897 units in Q3 FY2021, up 13.4pc from the previous year. Exports jumped by 20.6pc to 28,528 units in the quarter on the preceding year while sales in domestic market rose to 467,369 units, up by 13pc.
Raw material cost has hit the company’s net sales in December quarter as it amounted to almost 76.4pc of net sales which rose from 74.6pc in 2019. In Q3, the company’s capacity utilization improved but it was affected by ‘adverse’ commodity prices and foreign exchange fluctuations.
Net profit in Q3 stood at Rs19.414mn ($266mn), up 24pc from the previous year owing to good sales and higher non-operating income.
April-December performance
In the nine-month period (April-December 2020), the company sold 965,626 units, down 18pc from the previous year period. Domestic sales were at 905,015 units, down 17pc and exports stood at 60,611 units, down 21pc from the prior year. Sales volume for the industry slipped 18pc, according to figures released by the company. Net profit in 9-months period is down 29.7pc at Rs30,636mn from 2019.
Maruti Suzuki has decided to hike prices starting January which might have been the reason why sales in December shot up despite December being a relatively dull month for car sales as people prefer to buy a month later so that the registration date offers better resale value for the vehicle.
($1 = Rs72.9)