Maruti Suzuki net sales up 26.5%

Leading automaker Maruti Suzuki India Limited on Saturday announced its net sales has increased by 26.5% in the third quarter of 2010-11 (October- December 2010).

The company achieved Net Sales (net of excise) of Rs 92,767 million during the third quarter of 2010-11, a growth of 26.5 per cent over the same period last year (October-December 2009).

The Net sales in Quarter 2 (July-September 2010) was Rs 89,371 million.

Net Profit during the third quarter of this fiscal stood at Rs 5,652 million. In Q3 last fiscal (2009-10), the Net Profit was Rs 6,875 million. Net Profit in second quarter of the current fiscal (July-September 2010) was Rs 5,982 million.

The third quarter this year compared to the same period last year was marked by pressure on margins primarily due to adverse foreign exchange movement and higher royalty payout. Increase in commodity costs during the quarter also impacted the margins, said the company.

In the October-December 2010 quarter, Maruti Suzuki’s domestic sales volume grew by 36.8 per cent to 299,527 units, led by Alto, Wagon R and Swift.

The company registered its highest-ever sales in the domestic market with 107,555 units in October 2010. In November 2010, the domestic sales touched 102,503 crossing the 1 lakh milestone for the second time in the quarter.

During the quarter, all models continued to achieve good sales numbers, said the company.

The company?s volume in the domestic A2 segment grew by 35.3 per cent, while in the A3 segment, sales volume grew by 26.4 per cent, compared to sales in October-December 2009.

The company?s sales in the C segment, comprising Omni and Eeco, grew a robust 78.5 per cent.

At the end of the Quarter, sales network stood at 889 outlets, covering 631 cities (end Mar?10: 802 outlets, 555 cities). Service network stood at 2,879 workshops, covering 1,373 cities. (end Mar?10: 2,740 workshops, 1,335 cities) .