JK Tyre reports nearly three-fold increase in Q4 profit to Rs 108 cr

BENGALURU (Reuters) – India’s GK Tire and Industries on Wednesday reported a nearly three-fold increase in fourth-quarter profit, as raw material costs fell and domestic demand saw a boost.

Consolidated net profit rose to 1.08 billion rupees ($13.2 million) in the quarter ended March 31, from 402 million rupees a year earlier, the company said in a stock exchange statement.

The company, which supplies Maruti Suzuki India Ltd and Tata Motors Ltd, has reported growth of around 10% in revenue from operations.

Rubber prices fell 3% from the December quarter, when the effects of price easing were already starting to ripple through the company’s bottom line.

The cost of raw materials fell more than 4% to 21.28 billion rupees in the fourth quarter, compared to an increase of 21% reported by the tire maker last year.

“We remain optimistic about the growth trajectory of the tire industry in the coming year, supported by the pickup in economic activities and the big boost in infrastructure growth,” the company said in a statement.

Indian automakers posted higher sales in the March quarter as consumers snapped up passenger and commercial vehicles ahead of price increases in the implementation of tougher fuel emissions standards.

Rival tire manufacturers MRF Ltd, CEAT Ltd and Apollo Tires Ltd have reported a quarterly profit increase of between two and five times.

Shares of JK Tire settled up 0.4% ahead of its results, bringing its year-to-date gains to 8.4%.

($1 = 81.7800 Indian Rupees)

(Reporting by Varun Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by Shweta Agarwal)