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Maruti Udyog expects 56% jump in exports in 2003-04
Thursday, 15 January 2004, 20:30 IST
NEW DELHI: Maruti Udyog Limited, India's largest carmaker, said Wednesday the company's export of cars in the fiscal year ending March 31 would post a whopping 56 percent growth over the previous fiscal year.
"We had earlier expected that exports would be about 40,000 units but now we think it would be around 50,000 by end of March," Jagdish Khattar, managing director of Maruti Udyog, told a press conference here.
Maruti, the local arm of Japanese automobile giant Suzuki Motor Corp, exported 32,000 cars in the financial year 2002-03.
Europe accounts for nearly 80 percent of the company's exports while neighbouring Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and some Gulf countries account for the remaining overseas shipment.
Company official say Maruti was also exploring new markets to increase its earnings through exports.
"We are seeing new opportunities (for exports)," said Kinji Saito, director (marketing and sales) of Maruti Udyog Ltd.
Khattar, however, said the strengthening of the Japanese currency Yen and weakening of the US dollar might affect the company's earnings in the current fiscal year.
Maruti, which makes 10 car models in India including the popular Maruti 800 compact, sold 328,019 vehicles in the April-December period of the current fiscal posting a growth of 30.3 percent over the same period the previous year.
Automobile sales in the domestic market have witnessed rapid growth in the last few months as buyers rush to take advantage of sharply lower loan interest rates in a booming economy.
The total number of passenger cars sold in November touched 58,166 units, up from 41,146 logged in the same period in 2002, said the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers in December.
Maruti's net profit for the fiscal ended March 31 rose 40 percent over the previous year due to aggressive cost cutting measures.
The company's net profit in fiscal 2002-03 touched 
1.46 billion, up from 1.04 billion logged in the year ended March 31, 2002.
Suzuki Motor took management control of Maruti from the Indian government in May 2002 as part of the latter's privatisation programme. The Japanese auto major holds a majority 54.2 percent stake.
The government divested its stake in Maruti to 25 percent from 45.8 percent through an initial public offering in June.
Source: IANS
1.46 billion, up from 1.04 billion logged in the year ended March 31, 2002.
Suzuki Motor took management control of Maruti from the Indian government in May 2002 as part of the latter's privatisation programme. The Japanese auto major holds a majority 54.2 percent stake.
The government divested its stake in Maruti to 25 percent from 45.8 percent through an initial public offering in June.
Source: IANS