Maruti Suzuki Q3 profit more than doubles to ₹2,391 cr; revenue up 25%

Auto giant Maruti Suzuki has reported 129.55% growth in consolidated net profit for the October-December quarter at ₹2,391 crore as compared to ₹1,041.8 crore in the corresponding period last year, primarily driven by higher sales and a reduction in input costs. The Maruti Suzuki stock is trading 2.94% up at ₹8,664.95 on the NSE today.

The auto bellwether's Q3 FY23 revenue from operations surged 24.96% to ₹29,057.5 crore as compared to ₹23,253.3 crore in the year-ago period, Maruti Suzuki India, the country's largest automaker, said in an exchange filing.

The company's EBIT margin improved to 7.6% in Q3 FY23 as compared to 7.2% in the previous quarter. Its profit margin also improved to 9.4% in the said quarter from 7.2% in Q2 FY23.

In the quarter under review, Maruti Suzuki sold a total of 4,65,911 vehicles, a drop from 5,17,395 vehicles sold in the previous quarter. However, the net vehicle sold on a YoY basis increased by 8.2%. As per Maruti Suzuki, the factors that led to higher profit in Q3 FY23 are cost reduction efforts; favourable foreign exchange variation; softening of commodity prices; and higher non-operating income.

In the fiscal year till December 31, 2022, Maruti Suzuki sold 1.4 million units, up from 1.1 units sold in the same period last year. Its net sales also surged to ₹81,679 crore vs ₹58,284 crore in the year-ago period. The net profit in the 9-month period surged manifold to ₹5,425.6 crore as compared to ₹1,927.4 crore in the year-ago period.

Maruti sold a total of 1,39,347 units in December 2022, a 9% decline from 1,53,149 vehicles sold in December 2021, mainly due to a shortage of electronic components. Of this, the total domestic passenger vehicle sales sold in December 2022 stood at 1,12,010, down 8.9% from 1,23,016 units sold in the year-ago period.

In the mini-segment, a total of 9,765 units of Alto, S-Presso were sold, a big 40% decline on a year-on-year basis from 16,320 units sold in December 2021. In the compact segment comprising cars like Baleno, Celerio, Dzire, Ignis, Swift, Tour S, and WagonR, Maruti sold 57,502 units, down 17% from 69,345 units in the year-ago period. Maruti Suzuki exported 21,796 units in December 2022, a 2.1% decline from 22,280 units in the year-ago period.

In January, Maruti Suzuki raised vehicle prices across its models by around 1.1% to offset rising input costs. India's biggest passenger vehicle maker sold a total of 1,39,347 units in December 2022, a 9% decline from 1,53,149 vehicles sold in December 2021.

Separately, Maruti Suzuki, yesterday announced a recall of 11,177 Grand Vitara vehicles manufactured between August 8, 2022, and November 15, 2022. There is a possible defect in the rear seat belt mounting brackets, which is a rare case, Maruti Suzuki said. The development comes five days after Maruti Suzuki recalled a total of 17,362 vehicles due to a possible defect in the airbag controller.