Maruti Suzuki second-quarter profit beats estimates, higher sales aid

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, the country`s top-selling car maker, posted a more than 3 percent rise in quarterly profit, beating estimates, helped by higher sales in its compact and utility vehicles segments.

The company, majority-owned by Japan`s Suzuki Motor Corp, reported a profit of 24.84 billion rupees ($381.86 million) for the second quarter ended Sept. 30, versus 24.02 billion rupees a year ago. (http://bit.ly/2xtLHZZ)

This came in above analysts` average estimate of 22.29 billion rupees, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Maruti, which provides the bulk of Suzuki Motor`s revenues, sold a total of 492,118 vehicles during the quarter, up about 18 percent from a year ago.

Sales of compact vehicles, which includes Swift and Baleno, rose 43.5 percent, while sales of utility vehicles like Ertiga and Vitara Brezza climbed 27.6 percent.

The company dominates the small car market in India and has been expanding its offerings by launching more premium vehicles as competition heats up with newer and planned entrants such as Kia Motors and SAIC Motor Corp.

Maruti shares were trading up 1.6 percent by 0826 GMT.

($1 = 65.0500 Indian rupees)

(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)