M&M Q3 net falls 10% on higher costs

NEW DELHI: Utility vehicle and tractor major Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M ) on Tuesday reported a 10% fall in third-quarter profit as rising commodity costs squeezed margins. A onetime gain of Rs 117.5 crore from sale of its holdings in Owen Corning India in the same quarter of previous year also depressed earnings growth.
"Without the exceptional profit, our net profit would have grown over 7% this quarter .The overall numbers are as per expectations," Pawan Goenka, president of M&M's automotive and farm equipment sectors, said. Net profit fell to Rs 662 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2011, against Rs 735 crore a year earlier , even as revenue rose 37% to Rs 8,327 crore.