India's MRF reports Q3 profit jump on softer raw material prices, solid demand

MRF

09/02/2023 08:11

CHENNAI, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Indian tyremaker MRF  MRF.NS 
reported a 16% jump in quarterly profit on Thursday, as raw
material prices eased and a pickup in economic activity led to
higher demand for its now-pricier tyres.
    Standalone profit from continuing operations was 1.69
billion rupees ($20.46 million) for the third quarter ended Dec.
31, according to an exchange filing.
    MRF's total expenses rose 14% to 53.81 billion rupees,
nearly half of the increase in the first six months of the
current fiscal year.
    Revenue from operations rose about 15% to 55.35 billion
rupees.
    Profits at tyremakers have climbed as raw material prices
pulled back from Russia-Ukraine war-induced highs. They also
benefited from tyre price increases that were implemented last
year to cushion the hit from a surge in rubber prices. 
    MRF's rivals Apollo Tyres  APLO.NS  and JK Tyre & Industries
 JKIN.NS  also reported upbeat quarterly earnings earlier this
month.
    Demand from carmakers has improved as affluent Indians
continue to buy big-ticket products, despite high inflation,
while a rebound in economic activity led to higher sales from
end-users.
    India's top automakers, such as Maruti Suzuki India
 MRTI.NS  and Tata Motors  TAMO.NS , reported a double-digit
rise in sales of commercial vehicles and utility vehicles in
January, after posting solid profits for the October-December
quarter.
    MRF also reappointed Arun Mammen as its managing director
for five years with effect April 1. Mammen, 57, has been on the
MRF board since 1990 and became MD in 2004.
    The company, which started as a toy balloon manufacturing
business a year before India's independence, also declared an
interim dividend of three rupees per share, unchanged from the
previous quarter. 
($1 = 82.6080 Indian rupees)
 (Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai; editing by Eileen
Soreng)
 ((Praveen.Paramasivam@thomsonreuters.com; +91 867-525-3569;))