Increased costs driving Ceat profits down

Diminished profits are the order of the day in Ceat Ltd’s audited financial results for the financial year ended March 31, 2011. Performance in the final quarter impacted on the Indian manufacturer’s performance, and despite annual income growing 24.2 per cent to Rs 35163.3 million (£477.3 million), annual net profit plummeted from Rs 1610.3 million at the end of 2010 to Rs 222.8 million (£3.0 million).

The red ink was needed for the bottom-line figures for the year’s final quarter. Although the tyre maker’s income of Rs 10,009.2 million (£135.9 million) was 28.1 per cent up year-on-year, increased expenditure – particularly in regards to raw materials – and interest on loans conspired to whittle the final quarter 2010 net profit of Rs 153.3 million down to a net loss of Rs 118.6 million (£1.6 million) in the three months to the end of March 2011.