Maruti Q2 net down at Rs 296 cr

 Maruti Suzuki India Ltd reported a 37 per cent fall in quarterly net profit on Friday, as high raw material prices and higher depreciation outweighed higher sales.

Maruti said net profit fell to Rs 296 crore ($59.2 million) in its fiscal second quarter to September from Rs 467 crore in the same period a year earlier.

Net sales rose to Rs 4806 crore from Rs 4547 crore, it said in a statement.

That compared with a forecast of a net profit of Rs 369 crore on net sales of Rs 4738 crore in a Reuters poll.

Maruti, 54.2 per cent owned by Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp, holds almost half the Indian car market, with models such as the best-selling Alto and Swift hatchbacks, and has been shifting consumers to premium models such as the DZire sedan.

High cost of raw materials such as steel have hit its margins, while firm interest rates, rising inflation and a fuel price hike have dented demand in Asia's third-largest economy.