Indian automaker Mahindra’s Q4 profit rises 22%, declares dividend

INDIAN automaker Mahindra and Mahindra reported a 22.1 per cent rise in fourth-quarter profit on Friday (May 26), driven by strong sales of its sport-utility vehicles (SUVs).

The maker of the Scorpio, Thar and XUV range of SUVs benefited from robust demand for larger and pricier vehicles that made up more than half of India’s record passenger vehicle sales in the 2023 fiscal year.

Mahindra, one of India’s largest SUV makers by revenue, reported a standalone profit after tax of 15.49 billion rupees (S$253.5 million) for the January-March quarter, compared with 12.69 billion rupees a year earlier.

The company said it recorded a one-time charge of 5.12 billion rupees due to impairment provisions on long-term investments.

Larger rival Tata Motors earlier this month reported a second straight quarterly profit, while Maruti Suzuki India, the country’s largest carmaker by sales, comfortably topped analysts’ estimates late last month.

Mahindra’s revenue rose about 31 per cent to 225.71 billion rupees from 172.38 billion rupees an year earlier.

The company also declared a final dividend of 16.25 rupees per share. REUTERS