Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) on Monday reported a drop of 8.4 per cent in its profit for 2010-11 at Rs.2,288.60 crore compared to 2009-10, while its total income (net of excise) stood at Rs.37,522.40 crore, a growth of 24.6 per cent. MSIL's board of directors has recommended a dividend of Rs.7.50 per share of the face value of Rs. 5, while in 2009-10, it was Rs.6 per share.
The company's profit was impacted by adverse currency movement, particularly on exports, higher commodity prices and new model launches, MSIL said in a statement. In 2010-11, MSIL sold over 12.71-lakh vehicles, a growth of 24.8 per cent, while exports stood at over 1.38-lakh units, 43 per cent of which were to European countries.
In the January-March quarter this year, MSIL's total income stood at Rs.10,212.10 crore, a growth of 19.19 per cent compared to same quarter of 2009-10, while its net profit moved up marginally by 0.5 per cent at Rs.659.90 crore.
Commenting on the results, MSIL Managing Director Shinzo Nakanishi, said: “It was landmark year for the company as we crossed the one-million units mark in the domestic market. The year also saw the company recording its highest-ever total sales.”
On pressure on the company's margins, MSIL CFO Ajay Seth said: “There was a significant increase in commodity prices and foreign exchange fluctuation. The impact due to foreign exchange fluctuation is one per cent of net sales. Apart from that there were lot of new model launches, which also had cost impact.”
In 2010-11, MSIL's royalty payment to its Japanese parent Suzuki Motor Corporation increased by 86 per cent to Rs.1,981 crore from Rs.1,063 crore in the previous fiscal.
