The consolidated net profit of Maruti Suzuki India, the country’s largest car maker, rose 26 per cent to Rs 1,996.7 crore for the third quarter, driven by higher sales on a lower base and cost reduction.

The auto major had posted a net profit of Rs 1,587.4 crore in the October-December quarter of the previous fiscal.

Total revenue from operations rose 13 per cent to Rs 23,471.3 crore for the third quarter against Rs 20,721.8 crore in the same period last fiscal, MSI said in a statement.

During the December quarter, the company sold 4,95,897 vehicles, up 13.4 per cent over the same period previous fiscal. Sales in the domestic market stood at 4,67,369 units, growing by 13 per cent. Exports were at 28,528 units, higher by 20.6 per cent.

The company attributed the improvement in margin to higher capacity utilisation, lower sales promotion expenses, cost reduction efforts and higher fair value gains on invested surplus. However, cost reduction efforts were partially offset by the increase in commodity prices and adverse foreign exchange movement.

IndiGo loss narrows

Budget carrier IndiGo on Thursday reported a net loss of Rs 620 crore for the third quarter ended December 2020. It had posted a net profit of Rs 496 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal.

In the June and September quarter this fiscal, the airline had incurred a net loss of Rs 2,884 crore and Rs 1,194 crore, respectively. The airline’s total income declined 50 per cent year-on-year to Rs 5,142 crore in the third quarter. Its total expenses in the December quarter slipped 41 per cent to Rs 5,765 crore.

“The high level of consumer confidence in our product has indeed been heartening and we are glad to be making graduated and measured steps to a full recovery,” IndiGo CEO Ronojoy Dutta said. The airline is looking forward to a gradual resumption of scheduled international flights as increased aircraft utilisation is critical to its return to profitability, he added.

The airline said its occupancy rate or load factor during the quarter was 72 per cent, compared to 87.6 per cent a year ago

MSI said “these results have to be viewed in the context that in the previous financial year, sales volume had declined 16 per cent for the company and about 18 per cent for the industry”.

On a standalone basis, the company posted a net profit of Rs 1,941.4 crore, up 24 per cent against Rs 1,564.8 crore in the year-ago period. Standalone revenue from operations rose 13 per cent year-on-year to Rs 23,457.8 crore.

For the April-December period, Maruti Suzuki reported a 29.7 per cent year-on-year decline in net profit at Rs 3,063.60 crore. For the nine-month period, April to December, Maruti sold a total of 965,626 vehicles during the period, lower by 18.0% compared to the same period previous year. Sales in the domestic market stood at 905,015 units, lower by 17.8%. Exports were at 60,611 units, a decline of 21.9 per cent.