Suzuki Motor Corp Q2 operating profit down 32 pc as India, Japan sales slump

New Delhi/Tokyo: Japanese auto major Suzuki Motor Corporation on Tuesday reported 31.83 per cent decline in operating profit at 55.90 billion yen (around Rs 3,630 crore) in the second quarter ended September 30, mainly hit by slowdown in India.

The company, which operates in India through its subsdiary Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) , had posted operating profit of 82 billion yen (around Rs 5,330 crore) in the same period last fiscal.

Net sales in the period under review stood at 847.9 billion yen (around Rs 55,110 crore) as against 941.9 billion yen (about Rs 94,190 crore) in the year-ago period.

The decline in net sales were due to decrease in Japan production on restructuring of final inspection structure and decrease in Indian automobile sales driven by slowdown in the overall market, the company said in a presentation on its website.

"Slowdown since 2Q of FY2018, owing to production decrease in Japan, in addition to slowdown in Indian automobile (is) continuing from previous year," it added.

SMC said its global vehicle sales declined 17.2 per cent to 14.08 lakh units owing to decrease in India and Japan.

Sales in India, where MSI has nearly 50 per cent market share, were down 26.5 per cent at 6.75 lakh units.

In Japan, the drop was 4.6 per cent to 3.33 lakh units. However, in Europe the company posted a growth of 7.3 per cent at 1.49 lakh units.