Maruti Suzuki Q1 net profit grows 4.4% to Rs 1,556.4 crore

India's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India today posted over 4 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 1,556.4 crore for the first quarter ended June 30 as high commodity prices and GST-related expenses took a toll on its bottomline.

The company had reported a net profit of Rs 1,490.9 crore for the same period of the previous fiscal.

Net sales, however, rose 16.7 per cent to Rs 17,132.4 crore for the quarter under review, as against Rs 14,654.5 crore a year earlier, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said in a statement.

During April-June period, the company sold a total of 3,94,571 vehicles, including 26,140 in overseas markets, a growth of 13.2 per cent over the same period of the previous year.

The company said costs during the quarter under review were impacted by higher commodity prices, sales promotion and marketing expenses.

"Additionally, during the quarter, there was a one-off impact of compensation for dealers due to the tax loss incurred on vehicle stock at the time of switchover to GST," it added.

The car market leader also incurred a deferred tax expense of Rs 184.5 crore during the quarter. It stood at Rs 41.5 crore in the same period of the previous fiscal.

On reasons for maintaining profitability in the quarter, MSI said: "Growth in volumes, favourable product mix, higher non-operating income and cost reduction efforts contributed to increase in profits."

The company's stock today ended 0.19 per cent up at Rs 7,592.30 on the BSE.