Maruti Suzuki posts highest ever net profit at Rs 3,716 crore in Q2

Pune: Maruti Suzuki, India’s biggest car maker, on Friday reported an 80.3 per cent year-on-year jump in its standalone net profit at Rs 3,716.5 crore for the quarter ended September 30 on the back of higher net sales, softening of commodity prices, cost reduction efforts and higher non-operating income.

The maker of popular car models like Baleno and Invicto’s profit after tax (PAT) for the same period last year stood at Rs 2,061.5 crore.

Maruti Suzuki said in a statement that it recorded its highest-ever quarterly sales volume, net sales and net profit in this quarter.

Revenues from operations increased 23.8 per cent to Rs 37,062 crore over the year-ago period which was Rs 29,930.8 crore last year.

Maruti’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) or operating profit went up 72.8 per cent to Rs 4,784 crore in in Q2 compared to Rs 2,769 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal.

During the quarter, the company sold 552,055 units out of which sales in the domestic market were 482,731 units and the remaining 69,324 cars were exported.

The total sales were up by 6.7 per cent from 517,395 units sold in Q2 FY2022-23. The total numbers comprise 454,200 units in the domestic market and 63,195 units in overseas markets.

According to auto analysts this significant volume jump was largely due to new SUV rollouts as well as discounts for low-end car models during the second quarter.

Himanshu Singh, research analyst at Prabhudas Lilladher, noted that Maruti Suzuki’s margin improvement also involved an element of inventorisation (high inventory levels), which should reverse in upcoming quarters.

“Structurally, MSIL has successfully shifted from mainly being in the small cars space to becoming a leader in the SUV segment as well, and we see this trend persisting,” he noted.