Maruti Suzuki skids on muted sales growth in April

Maruti Suzuki India fell 1.78% to Rs. 1,296.25 at 11:20 IST on BSE after company's total sales registered a muted 4.4% rise to 97,155 units in April 2011 over April 2010.

The company announced the monthly vehicle sales figures during market hours today, 2 May 2011.

On BSE, 73,567 shares were traded in the counter as against average daily volume of 65,232 shares over the past one quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs. 1333.90 and a low of Rs. 1287 so far during the day.

India's largest car maker by sales has an equity capital of Rs. 144.46 crore. Face value per share is Rs. 5.

Maruti's domestic vehicle sales rose 8.9% to 87,144 units in April 2011 over April 2010. Exports fell 23.1% to 10,011 units in April 2011 over April 2010. As per segment wise sales, total domestic passenger cars sales rose 7.6% to 73,905 units in April 2011 over April 2010. Within the passenger segment, sales of A1 segment (comprising of Maruti 800 model) rose 12% to 2528 units in April 2011 over April 2010.

Sales of A2 Segment (Alto, Wagon-R, Estilo, Swift, A-star, Ritz) rose 1.8% to 57,443 units in April 2011 over April 2010. Sales of A3 Segment (SX4, D-Zire) rose 39.1% to 13,899 units in April 2011 over April 2010. Sales of A4 segment which comprised of Kizashi model, which was launched in February 2011 stood at 35 units.

In the B segment, Multi Utility vehicles which consisting of models Gypsy and Grand Vitara, declined 69.5% to 217 units in April 2011 over April 2010. Sales of C segment, comprised of vans Omni and Eeco rose 22.2% to 13,022 units in April 2011 over April 2010.

The company's net profit fell 8.4% to Rs. 2288.60 crore on 24.60% increase in total income, net of excise, to Rs. 37522.40 crore in the year ended March 2011 over the year ended March 2010. Adverse currency movement (particularly on exports), higher commodity prices and new model launches impacted the company's profits in the year ended March 2011, Maruti said

Maruti Suzuki India's board recommended a final dividend of Rs. 7.50 per share for the year ended March 2011. The dividend will be paid on 14 September 2011 subject to the approval of the shareholders in the ensuing annual general meeting.

Sensex ends 110 points up; Maruti, ONGC, Hindalco gain

Indian markets ended on a positive note but off highs as investors took some profits off the table ahead of truncated week-end. Metals, oil&gas and realty stocks led the upmove while capital goods, power and IT led the losers pack.

Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex ended at 19581.67, up 110.69 points or 0.81 per cent. The 30-share index hit a high of 19695.98 and low of 19530.50 intraday.

National Stock Exchange's Nifty was at 5887.70, up 36.05 points or 0.62 per cent. The broader index touched a high of 5912.90 and low of 5866.90 in today's trade.

BSE Midcap Index was up 0.10 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index edged 0.03 per cent lower.

Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE Metal Index was up 1.57 per cent, BSE Oil&gas Index gained 1.14 per cent and BSE Realty Index moved 0.60 per cent higher. BSE Capital Goods Index slipped 1.06 per cent and BSE Power Index declined 0.91 per cent.

Maruti (3.80%), ONGC (2.78%), Hindalco (2.66%),HDFC (2.46%) and Sterlite Industries (2.30%) were the major Sensex gainers.

BHEL (-4.73%), TCS (-2.61%), Bharti Airtel (-1.38%),Tata Motors (-0.99%) and Cipla (-0.42%) were amongst the top losers.

Shares of TCS were down on profit booking after it reported better-than-expected quarterly figures. Its standalone net profit grew to Rs 7569.99 crores for the year ended March 2011 against Rs 5618.51 crores a year ago. Net sales grew to Rs 29275.41 crores from Rs 23044.45 crores.

Reliance Industries will be announcing results later in the day. Analysts are expecting the oil&gas major to report robust numbers due to higher gross refining margins. The stock ended at 1.37 per cent higher on the BSE.

Market breadth was positive on the BSE with 1364 gainers against 1510 losers.

Realty stocks extend recent gains

A bout of volatility as the key benchmark indices dropped once again after recovering from the day's low in morning trade, as oil prices hovering near 2-1/2-year sparked inflation and interest rates worries. The BSE 30-share Sensex was down 27.65 points or 0.14%, off close to 35 points from the day's high and up close to 40 points from the day's low. The market breadth was strong. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) extended initial losses. Maruti Suzuki India fell after recalling some diesel cars. Print media shares rose across the board on renewed buying. Realty stocks extended recent gains on value buying.

The market edged lower in early trade as crude hovered near 2-1/2-year highs. A bout of volatility as the key benchmark indices dropped once again after recovering from the day's low in morning trade.

India imports majority of its crude oil requirements and a surge in crude oil prices over the past few months has sparked inflation and interest rates worries. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is seen raising key short term policy rates by 25 basis points at its annual 2011-2012 monetary policy review on 3 May 2011.

High oil prices have also raised concerns about higher oil subsidy bill for the government and its negative impact on the government's fiscal position. US crude futures were down 50 cents a barrel or 0.46% at $108.33 a barrel. The price had climbed 49 cents to $108.83 a barrel in New York on Wednesday, 6 April 2011, the highest settlement since 22 September 2008.

Good monsoon this year could help ease food inflation and boost rural income. Recent reports indicate that India will receive good rains during the July-September monsoon season this year. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) is expected to come out with its long term forecast of the summer monsoon rainfall season by the end of this month.

At 10:20 IST, the BSE 30-share Sensex was down 27.65 points or 0.14% to 19,586.98. The index gained 8.68 points at the day's high of 19,620.88 in early trade. The Sensex fell 69.21 points at the day's low of 19,542.99 in early trade.

The S&P CNX Nifty was down 12.60 points or 0.21% to 5,879.15.

The market breadth, indicating the health of the market, was strong. On BSE, 1469 shares advanced while 670 shares declined. A total of 78 shares remained unchanged.

Among the 30-member Sensex pack, 16 gained while only five of them declined. Bharti Airtel, TCS and HDFC Bank fell by between 0.96% to 1.74%. Hindalco Industries, HDFC and Tata Power Company rose by between 1.07% to 1.41%.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) fell 0.51%. RIL, last week, bagged two blocks in the ninth round of oil and gas block auctions held by the government.

Most auto stocks fell on profit taking after recent strong gains triggered by strong vehicle sales in the month of March 2011 and hike/likely hike in vehicle prices. India's top small care maker by sales Maruti Suzuki declined 1.01%, extending Wednesday's 1.4% fall. The company announced after market hours on Wednesday that it would recall 13,157 diesel engine cars. The company said it would inspect the 'connecting rod bolt' for units of its Swift and Ritz model diesel cars with engines manufactured between 13 November 2010 and 4 December 2010.

Maruti Suzuki increased the prices of its products by 0.2% to 2.4% from 4 April 2011, depending on the models to offset rising costs of key inputs viz. steel, aluminum, copper and natural rubber.

India's second largest bike maker by sales Bajaj Auto fell 0.05%. The company's total vehicle sales increased 12% to 3.07 lakh units in March 2011 over March 2010. The company announced its March 2011 sales figures on Monday, 4 April 2011.

India's largest truck maker by sales Tata Motors declined 1.08%. The company had hiked prices of some car models by Rs. 7,000 to Rs. 36,000 from 1 April 2011.

India's top tractor and utility vehicles maker by sales Mahindra & Mahindra shed 0.42%. The company had said on 1 April 2011 it will raise prices of its products within a week to offset higher commodity prices.

India's largest bike maker by sales Hero Honda Motors rose 0.25%, with the stock gaining for the thirteenth straight day. Hero Honda's total sales rose 24.4% to 5.15 lakh units in March 2011 over March 2010. The monthly sales in March 2011 were record monthly sales.

Realty stocks extended recent gains on continued value buying. Ackruti City, DLF, Indiabulls Rela Estate, HDIL and Unitech rose by between 0.43% to 2.43%.

Mahindra Satyam rose 2% after the Supreme Court directed the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to maintain status quo over its demand of Rs. 617 crore in income tax till Friday, 8 April 2011. It also asked CBDT to work out Satyam's actual liability.

Print media shares rose across the board on renewed buying. Jagran Prakashan, Sandesh, DB Corp, HT Media and rose by between 1.69% to 5.73%.

Indian stocks had witnessed a sharp rally recently on the back of heavy inflow from foreign funds. As per provisional figures FIIs bought shares worth Rs. 528.47 crore on Wednesday, 6 April 2011. FIIs bought shares worth a net Rs. 1562.70 crore during two trading sessions on Monday, 4 April 2011 and Tuesday, 5 April 2011, the latest data from Securities & Exchange Boardof India (Sebi) showed. FII inflow in April 2011 totaledRs. 5650 crore (till 5 April 2011). FIIs had bought equities worth Rs. 6897.80 crore in March 2011. FII inflow in calendar year 2011 totaled Rs. 3149.10 crore (till 5 April 2011).

The near term major trigger for the market is Q4 March 2011 results which will start trickling in from about mid-April 2011. Investors will scrutinize post-result management commentary to gauge outlook on earnings at a time when rising salaries, raw materialsprices and interest rates are pressurizing profit margins of India Inc.

On the macro front, the government will unveil data on some wholesale price indices for the year through 26 March 2011 viz. the food price index, the primary articles index and the fuel price index at about 12:00 IST.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on Wednesday affirmed the 'BBB-' long-term and 'A-3' short-term unsolicited sovereign credit ratings on India. The outlook on the long-term rating is stable, it said. The ratings on India reflect the country's good economic growth prospects and its fairly strong external position. Positive investment trends further underpin the ratings, with foreign direct investment and portfolio investments covering a large share of the current account deficit. Nevertheless, the country's weak fiscal profile and structural problems temper its strengths. Structural problems not only constrain efficiency but also preclude a large share of the population from benefiting from the country's rising prosperity, it added.

A survey showed on Tuesday that growth in India's service sector slowed in March from February's blistering seven-month high as new business growth moderated slightly, while price pressures, particularly wages, continued to rise. The seasonally adjusted HSBC Markit Business Activity index, based on a survey of over 450 companies, slipped to 58.8 in March 2011 from 60.2 in February 2011, but remained above the 50 mark that denotes expansion for the 23rd consecutivemonth.

On the political front, the first phase of assembly polls took place in Assam on Monday, 4 April 2011 in 62 of the 126 assembly constituencies. The second and concluding phase of elections will be held on 11 April 2011 in the remaining 64 constituencies. Assam elections will be followed by elections in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, West Bengal and Kerala in twomonths between April and May. While Assam will have two-phased poll, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry in one phase and West Bengal in six phases ending on 10 May 2011. The vote count is scheduled for 13 May 2011 for elections held in all the five states.

Asian stocks were mixed on Thursday after Portugal became the latest European country to plead for a bailout. The key benchmark indices in China, Indonesia and Taiwan rose by between 0.09% to 0.2%. The key benchmark indices in Hong Kong Singapore and South Korea fell by between 0.04% to 0.5%.

Portugal's caretaker government gave in to market pressures on Wednesday and joined Greece and Ireland in seeking an emergency bailout. The decision came after the government was forced to pay much higher rates to sell more debt.

Japanese stocks rose 0.16% off day's high after the Bank of Japan further eased its monetary policy, while leaving policy rates unchanged at the end of its two-day meeting. The Bank of Japan said Thursday that its policy board unanimously voted to keep its overnight call rate range from zero to 0.1%, and it also established a special lending facility for financial institutions in areas hit by the 11 March 2021 earthquake and tsunami.

US markets inched forward in relatively light volume on Wednesday, with investors adding selectively and avoiding large bets ahead of earnings.

Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could fall 12 points at the opening bell on Thursday, 7 April 2011.

The European Central Bank is widely expected to raise its key refinancing rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 1.25% at a policy meeting today, 7 April 2011, in what would be the first rate increase since the middle of 2008.

India Infoline

Maruti, Hero Honda, Toyota, M&M, Nissan sales end fiscal year in top gear

NEW DELHI: Indian automobile manufacturers ended fiscal year 2010-11 on a high note. Most leading car and two-wheeler companies posted record sales, as rising disposable income with the middle-class and a pick up in new product launches kept the demand momentum going, despite price hikes.

The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki and number one two-wheeler manufacturer Hero Honda posted their best-ever monthly and fiscal sales numbers despite pressure from rising interest rates and soaring crude-oil prices.

Maruti Suzuki reported 28% year-on-year growth in sales to 121,000 units in March, which includes all-time high domestic sales of 110,000 units, up 39%. The company's A2 segment vehicles, including Alto, WagonR, Estilo, Swift , A-Star and Ritz, witnessed 43% sales growth to 78,460 units. In April-March 2010-11, the company's total sales stood at 11.32 lakh units, up 30% from a year ago.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor sold a record number of 9,726 units in March, a growth of 41% year-on-year, led by 3,257 units sales of its sedan Etios. Mahindra & Mahindra registered 19% growth in its passenger car sales during the month to 17,320 units, while new entrant Nissan Motor sold 2,101 cars, including 2,060 units of its hatchback Micra. Czech carmaker Skoda Auto posted 65% year-on-year jump in sales to 3,009 units.

However, some like Hyundai Motor , the country's second-largest carmaker, could not quite cash in on the customer enthusiasm due to rising input cost. Hyundai Motor's domestic sales in March remained flat year on year at 31,822, while exports grew a tad by 0.9% to 23,526 units. Its total sales in March were up a mere 1% to 55,552 units.

"We managed to grow our overall volumes but the rate has slowed down signalling tough times ahead," Hyundai's director, marketing and sales, Arvind Saxena, said.

The two-wheeler segment was also on the fast track with Hero Honda selling a record 515,852 bikes in March. For the full year, the company posted its highest ever sales number of 54.02 lakh, up 17% year-on-year. Chennai-based TVS Motors sold 191,000 units in March, up 28%.

Fiscal year 2010-11 was the best year for the Indian automobile industry, but further rate hikes by the Reserve Bank of India could weigh on sales in the year ahead, said industry experts and analysts.

However, some analysts have a more optimistic take on the sector for the months ahead. According to Umesh Karne, analyst with Brics Securities, even if the central bank hikes key rates by 50-100 basis points, it will not likely be an immediate dampener for the automobile sector, though any further rate increase could hit car sales in coming months.

"For FY12-13, Indian auto industry is likely to record a volume growth of 14%, with passenger cars expected to be the leader. Growth will be fuelled by urbanisation and rising per capita income," said Karne.

economictimes.indiatimes.com