Financial Result: Maruti Suzuki’s quarterly profits halve

Maruti is 54.2% owned by Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp.

NEW DELHI: Maruti Suzuki, India’s top carmaker, posted a wider-than-expected 60% fall in its quarterly profit, hit by a labour unrest and rising interest rates and vehicle costs that have hurt demand in Asia’s third-largest economy. Maruti, 54.2% owned by Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp, said last week it had resolved the labour unrest at its plant in north India that had crippled production and sent sales tumbling. Maruti said on Saturday net profit in its fiscal second quarter that ended on September 30 dropped to INR2.40 billion ($49 million) from INR5.98 billion reported in the same period a year ago. Shares in Maruti, which has a market value of $6.6 billion, have fallen nearly 21% this year, in line with a fall in rival Tata Motors shares but more than a 13% drop in the Mumbai market.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 30^th, 2011.