The country’s largest passenger vehicles maker Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) on Wednesday reported a 66 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) decline in net profit to ₹487 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, compared with net profit of ₹1,419 crore in the corresponding period last year.

However, consolidated total revenue of the quarter under review grew 10 per cent y-o-y to ₹20,551 crore against ₹18,755 crore in the same period last year.

“The most notable aspect this year was a record growth in exports. Export sales were the highest ever in the company’s history and the figures of the first half this year exceeded the full year sales of last year,” the company said.

Chip shortage

The company sold a total of 3,79,541 units of vehicles during the July-September quarter constrained by a global shortage in the supply of electronic components. Sales in the domestic market stood at 3,20,133 units and exports were at 59,408 units, the highest ever in any quarter, MSIL said.

During the same period the previous year, the company clocked total sales of 3,93,130 units, including 3,70,619 units in domestic market and 22,511 units in the export market.

An estimated 1,16,000 vehicles could not be produced owing to the electronics component shortage mostly corresponding to the domestic models. The company had more than two-lakh pending customer orders at the end of the quarter for which the company is making all efforts to expedite deliveries, it said.

Rise in commodity prices

“This quarter was also marked by an unprecedented increase in the prices of commodities like steel, aluminium and precious metals within a span of one year. The company made maximum efforts to absorb input cost increases offsetting them through cost reduction and passed on minimum impact to customers by way of car price increase,” MSIL said adding that as a result there was a drop in its net profit.

The company further said that the only positive factors during this quarter were the cost reduction efforts and increase in selling price of the products.

It added that the production cycle was gradually increasing and will grow from next month.

Shares of MSIL closed at ₹7,352.50 apiece on the BSE on Wednesday, up 0.77 per cent from the previous close.