Maruti Suzuki India, the country’s largest car maker, on Wednesday reported a standalone net profit of ₹1,292 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, down 28 per cent from ₹1,795 crore in the corresponding period last year.
Total revenue from operations also declined by 15 per cent year-on-year (YoY) during the period and stood at ₹18,199 crore, as compared with ₹21,459 crore in the January-March period last year.
Dividend payout
Meanwhile, in line with the financial performance of the year and considering the uncertain business environment, the board of directors of MSIL recommended a dividend of ₹60 per share (face value of ₹5 per share) for financial year 2019-20, the company said.
The company sold a total of 3,85,025 vehicles during the fourth quarter, 16 per cent lower than in the same period of the previous year, it said, adding that the company sold 3,60,428 vehicles in the domestic market, a drop of 16 per cent over the same period in the previous year.
Chairman RC Bhargava said that most enquiries are coming from the digital medium right now, from which MSIL has 5,000 bookings, and 2,300 vehicles have already been delivered in the past week.
He said the most challenging issue right now is the movement of parts from vendors, as many of them could be in containment zones and therefore cannot start manufacturing yet.
No job cuts
Asked about cutting salaries or jobs amidst the pandemic, Bhargava said: “We are not cutting any salaries or jobs.”
He also said that Maruti does not have any plan to increase the prices of its products at this time even though the cost of production has increased.
“At the moment these protocols — which result in a little lower productivity and lower output — will have an impact in increasing the overall cost of production. But, at least Maruti has no plan of passing these on to customers at this point in time,” he added.
Full-year profit down 25%
For the full year, the company’s net profit stood at ₹5,650 crore, down 25 per cent, as compared with ₹7,500 crore in the previous year. Total revenue also declined to ₹75,610 crore during the last financial year, down 12 per cent as compared with ₹86,020 crore in the previous fiscal year.
The company said it has kept ₹2,700 crore as its capex for FY2020-21 as compared to ₹3,250 crore in FY2019-20.
Meanwhile, on new product developments or launches in the near future, Kenichi Ayukawa, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, MSIL, said: “We are facing some challenges and discontinuities in design and development work. We will have to take stock if programmes get affected.”
Shares of MSIL closed at ₹5,035.25 apiece on the BSE on Wednesday, up 1.72 per cent from the previous close.