Apollo Tyres Net Profit up 25 per cent

A lower excise duty and a higher operating profit helped Apollo Tyres Ltd achieve a 25.48 per cent increase in earnings during the third quarter of 2005 (July-September) compared with same period last year. The company has declared a net profit of 180.6 million rupees (£2.26 million) for the quarter ended 30 September 2005 against 148.7 million rupees a year ago. Net sales grew marginally year-on-year from 6 billion rupees to 6.32 billion rupees in the reporting quarter, operating profit rose to 600 million rupees from 465.4 million.