Maruti Suzuki Trades Marginally Higher Ahead Of March Quarter Earnings

Shares of the country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki were trading marginally higher ahead of March quarter earnings.

Shares of the country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki were trading marginally higher ahead of March quarter earnings. Maruti Suzuki shares rose 0.2 per cent to Rs 6,652 ahead of March quarter earnings. The stock rose as much as 0.66 per cent to hit an intraday high of Rs 6,684.95. Maruti Suzuki shares witnessed lower than usual trading volumes as 19,000 shares changed hands on the BSE compared with an average of 56,000 shares traded daily in the past two weeks. Maruti Suzuki hiked prices on selected models from April 16 due to an increase in various input costs. According to a regulatory filing by the company to stock exchanges, the weighted average price increase in ex-showroom prices (Delhi) across selected models is 1.6 per cent. This was the second price hike on cars by the company this month, and the third hike since February. In quarter ended December 2020, Maruti Suzuki sold a total of 495,897 vehicles during the third quarter - up 13.4 per cent compared with the year-ago period. The automaker's net profit grew 24 per cent for the quarter ended December 31, on the back of strong sales. Net profit for Maruti rose to Rs 1,941 crore as sales grew Rs 22,367 crore - an increase of 13.2 per cent compared with the same period previous year.