Indian tyre industry major JK Tyre & Industries reported a 78.81 per cent decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 33.66 crore for the quarter ended March 2019, due to high raw material costs and expenses. Total expenses were also higher at Rs 2,665.91 crore as compared to Rs 2,146.54 crore.
The company had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 158.87 crore in the year-ago period. Consolidated revenue from operations for the quarter under review stood at Rs 2,705.89 crore as against Rs 2,283.97 crore in the same period of 2017-18.
For the fiscal ended March 2019, the company said its net profit jumped to Rs 170.57 crore from Rs 63.32 crore in the previous year, while its total sales stood at Rs 10,370 crore, registering a growth of 24 per cent over last fiscal. Raghupati Singhania, chairman and managing director of the company said, “Despite Q4 profitability being impacted due to high raw material prices, the operating margins for the year as a whole increased by 35 per cent”.
JK Tyre volumes grew by 20 per cent despite a slow-down in the second half of the year, the company said, adding that it could enhance its market presence across categories, led by the high capacity utilisation of the recently acquired Cavendish.
Singhania also added that JK Tyre “continues to maintain its leadership position in India’s truck and bus radial tyres segment. Capacity expansion in this segment undertaken at Cavendish will help it further bolster its position”.