Apollo posts healthy profit on higher sales for 12 months

ERJ staff report (DS)

Gurgaon, India -- Apollo Tyres reported sales up sharply for the 12 months ended 31 March 2009, while profits fell by around half. The company said consolidated sales grew by six percent, to Rs 49 840 million (euro 750 million), while pre-tax profit declined to Rs 2134 million (euro 32.1 million) from Rs 4053 million.

The Indian division reported sales up by 10 percent, to Rs 40704 million (euro 612 million) for the year. Profits in the Indian segment also fell by around half, with operating profit of Rs 1712 million (Rs 3334 million) and net profit of Rs 1081 million (2193 million).

Even in the most recent three month period, Indian operations recorded sales up by over 10 percent, to Rs 11 105 million (10 013 million), while pre-tax profits --at Rs 741 million (894 million) were barely affected by current standards.

The African unit saw sales decline slightly to Rs 9176 million, from 10 069 million. Pre-tax profit (EBIT) also declined, to Rs 736.4 million from Rs 990 million.

Apollo said its passenger car tyre business posted a 20% volume growth. Remarkably, the company even managed to increase its OE sales during the year, with the new Hyundai i20 as an added partner this year

Speaking on the results, Onkar S Kanwar, Chairman & Managing Director, Apollo Tyres Ltd, said: “While the general slowdown has impacted all industries, for us, a nearly 25% higher cost of raw materials was a double blow this past year. However, given the circumstances, I am pleased with our performance in such a challenging environment. We look to better this performance this year.”

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