Indian tyremaker MRF misses Sept-qtr profit estimates as input costs weigh

JK Tyre & Industries

08/11/2022 07:30

BENGALURU, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Indian tyre manufacturer
MRF Ltd  MRF.NS  missed second-quarter profit estimates on
Tuesday, as soaring input costs and supply chain issues weighed,
offsetting a rise in revenue. 
    Standalone net profit from continuing operations fell 32.2%
to 1.24 billion rupees ($15.14 million) for the three months
ended Sept. 30, from 1.83 billion rupees a year earlier, it said
in an exchange filing. 
    Analysts on average had expected a profit of 1.85 billion
rupees, according to Refinitiv IBES data. 
    The tyre manufacturing industry has been grappling with high
input costs as soaring global inflation hiked prices of raw
materials such as rubber. 
    MRF Chairman K.M. Mammen had said in July that supply issues
for raw materials, inflicted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine,
and low demand due to soaring fuel costs played spoilsport for
the company and the industry at large. 
    The Russia-Ukraine conflict also led to a sharp increase in
petrochemical costs, a key component in tyre manufacturing.
    MRF's input costs saw an 8.1% rise to 41.13 billion rupees. 
    Indian tyre companies, including MRF, on Friday said they
were investing 11 billion rupees to expand rubber plantations in
India's northeastern and eastern regions.
      Revenue from operations rose 18.4% to 57.19 billion
rupees.  
    In the past week, MRF's competitors CEAT Ltd  CEAT.NS  and
JK Tyre and Industries Ltd  JKIN.NS  also reported big slumps in
their quarterly profits.
($1 = 81.9050 Indian rupees)
 (Reporting by Biplob Kumar Das in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane
Venkatraman)
 ((Biplobkumar.das@thomsonreuters.com; 9101861583;))