BENGALURU (Reuters) – Indian tyremaker CEAT reported a lower fourth-quarter profit on Thursday, hurt by higher rubber costs.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
CEAT, whose customers include automakers Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra & Mahindra, is the first Indian tyremaker to report results this quarter.
CONTEXT
Domestic sales of overall vehicles in India rose more than 20% in the fourth quarter and production climbed more than 21%, according to industry data.
Prices of rubber, a key raw material for tyre manufacturers, rose roughly 10% in the quarter, according to analysts.
BY THE NUMBERS
CEAT’s fourth-quarter consolidated net profit fell 18.8% to 1.09 billion rupees ($13.06 million) from a year earlier. Analysts had expected a profit of 1.64 billion rupees, according to LSEG data.
The company’s revenue from operations rose 4.1% to 29.92 billion rupees.
CEAT’s quarterly expenses rose 3.7% to 27.98 billion rupees, led by a 5.5% climb in raw material costs.
GRAPHIC
(Figures in percentage)
($1 = 83.4550 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Varun Hebbalalu and Meenakshi Maidas in Bengaluru)
