Maruti Suzuki Q3 2009-10 triples to Rs. 687.53 crore

Maruti Suzuki India has reported a three-fold jump in its net profit at Rs. 687.53 crore in the third quarter of the current financial year ending December 31, 2009, as compared to Rs. 214 crore in the corresponding period last year.  India's largest passenger carmaker posted a net sales of Rs. 7,333.77 crore for the December quarter, up 62.51 per cent from Rs. 4,512.64 crore in the same period previous fiscal, while its vehicle sales were at 2,18,910 units, up 37.8 per cent from the same quarter a year ago.

In the October–December 2009 quarter, favourable conditions in the domestic market supported by the government's stimulus package and ease of automobile finance helped achieve good sales. Commodity prices were favorable for a major part of the last quarter but started to harden in the last few weeks.

During the quarter, exports, led by the A-star, continued to be strong. The scrappage schemes offered by some European governments, an appreciating Euro and efforts in the non-European markets resulted in the growth in exports

The company also said it will invest Rs 1,700 crore to expand the production capacity at its Manesar plant by 2.5 lakh units annually by 2012. It is to be mentioned that Maruti Suzuki currently has a capability to manufacturer a million units at its existing facilities at Gurgaon (0.7 million) and Manesar (0.3 million).

The company has also stated that it remains cautiously optimistic about sale volumes in the current quarter. Maruti has claimed that the margins would be under pressure due to introduction of BS-IV technology in the large volume models and hardening of commodity prices and the focus on cost reduction and Kaizen in operations continues.