Maruti Suzuki posts record ₹3,878 crore profit in Q4 FY23-24

India's largest carmarker Maruti Suzuki on Friday its highest quarterly net profit in March reported quarter net profit as sports utility vehicles drove an increase in sales and favourable commodity prices helped margins.

Consolidated net profit of ₹3,877.8 crore in January-March (fourth quarter of fiscal year April 2023 to March 2024) soared 47.8 per cent when compared with ₹2,623.6 crore in the same period a year back, the company said in a stock exchange filing and media statement.

The company, in which Japan's Suzuki Motor Corporation holds 58.19 per cent stake, sold 13.4 per cent more cars in the fourth quarter at 5.84 lakh (including 78,740 units exported) while material cost as percentage of sales dropped 190 bps to 74.2 per cent.

Maruti, however, does not share an exact number of SUVs sold. It sold 71.5 per cent more utility vehicles -- mostly SUVs and multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) -- at 1.81 lakh. Utility vehicle share was 36 per cent in the March quarter, up from 24 per cent last year.

In an investor presentation, it attributed the rise in profit to "improved capacity utilisation, cost reduction efforts, softening of commodity prices, improved realisation and higher non-operating income."

These outdid higher sales promotion expense and higher manufacturing overheads. During the quarter, the company registered net sales of ₹36,697.5 crore against ₹30,821.8 crore in the same period of the previous year.

For the full fiscal year (FY24), the company reported a 64 per cent jump in net profit to a record ₹13,209.4 crore. Sales were up 20 per cent to ₹134,937.8 crore in April 2023 to March 2024.

During the year, the firm sold 2 million cars. The numbers "represent the company's highest ever unit sales, net sales, and net profit both for the quarter and the financial year," a company statement said.

Addressing a virtual media briefing here, the company's Chairman R C Bhargava said it will start production of the first electric vehicle in the current fiscal. "As far as EV is concerned, we will start production in this financial year. We have a commitment to export the first lot of cars to Europe," he said.

The domestic market may not see EV cars in reasonable numbers this financial year... maybe in the next fiscal year, he said, while replying to a query. The Board of Directors recommended highest-ever dividend of ₹125 per share (face value of ₹5 per share) for FY24 compared to ₹90 per share in FY 2022-23.