Local demand boosts Apollo Tyres’ third quarter results

Chennai, India – Apollo Tyres has posted strong growth over the first three quarters of its fiscal year, with both revenue and operating profit ahead of prior-year levels.

Over the nine months to end of December, the Indian tire maker reported an 18% growth in operating profit to INR23 billion (256 million), on 19% higher sales of INR183 billion.

Net profit for period came in at INR6.7 billion, up nearly 29% compared to the first nine months of the previous year, Apollo reported 2 Feb.

Apollo linked the strong performance to its India-based operations, which saw 21% year-on-year growth in nine-month revenue.

Sales within the company’s European operations also grew in double digits during that period, the group stated.

“Domestic demand has helped us tide over the recessionary trends elsewhere,” commented Apollo chairman Onkar Kanwar, adding that the group's European operations had “outperformed the market.”

In addition, Kanwar noted that input costs eased “to some extent” in the past quarter, helping to improve margins.

Looking ahead, the group chairman said "demand momentum looks positive, [though] there may be some headwinds in the near term.”

We will report further on trends and developments in the international tire market in the March/April edition of European Rubber Journal magazine.