Apollo net profits continue upward trend in Q3 2012-13

In the three months to 31 December 2012, Apollo Tyres Ltd’s net sales grew 9.4 per cent to Rs 97.57 billion (£1.17 billion), while net profit jumped 86.1 per cent to 1.8 billion (£21.63 million). Operating profit for the third quarter of Apollo’s 2012-13 financial year amounted to Rs 4.1 billion (£49.27 million), up from Rs 3.3 billion a year earlier.

Nine-month figures show net sales of Rs 32.17 billion (£386.61 million), 0.3 per cent down on the corresponding period in 2011-12. Operating profit between 1 April and 31 December 2012 increased from Rs 3.3 billion to Rs 4.1 billion (£4.93 million), while net profit grew 84.2 per cent to Rs 1.8 billion (£21.63 million).

Commenting on the results, Apollo chairman Onkar S Kanwar said: “The dynamics in our largest market – India – have not been easy. Europe and South Africa too are facing their own economic issues. In India, the commercial vehicle segment has been affected the most, while the other sectors have not remained unscathed. While we expect the passenger vehicle segment to recover in the next two quarters, commercial vehicle sales will take more time to normalise. Having said that, our continued focus on improving the product and customer mix across geographies, has helped us better our profitability. I believe that the worst is behind us, and we should see improvement in both automotive and tyre sales from the beginning of the new fiscal.”