INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Automaker Mahindra and Mahindra reported a jump in second-quarter profit on Tuesday, helped by strong export volumes while mitigating some
impact from the acute global semiconductor crunch.Shares of the company rose as much as 3.3 per cent to Rs 887.50 after the results.The
company's tractor business, which commands higher margins, saw lower sales during the quarter hurt by cost inflation in raw materials and
Mahindra, however, expects to see robust demand for farm equipment sector in the coming months.The auto industry has seen strong recovery in
demand for passenger vehicles in the past two quarters, but with chip shortages hurting carmakers globally, companies have scrambled to make
up for the production hit.Mahindra said that it faced a production loss of 32,000 vehicles in the second quarter owing to the chip shortage
However, for the reported quarter, total vehicles sales were up 9 per cent, while total tractor sales were down 5 per cent.The company
witnessed strong growth in auto exports as well as farm businesses, with farm equipment exports having the best first half ever.Mahindra and
Mahindra, chaired by billionaire Anand Mahindra, said in a statement that with better availability of semiconductors, it expects to maintain
volume growth momentum from the third quarter onwards.Stringent cost control measures at the automotive business have helped Mahindra
partially offset margin impact of commodity price increase.Due to chip shortages and rising commodity prices, many automakers including
Mahindra have focused on manufacturing high margin models and have passed on some of the costs to customers with multiple price
hikes.Consolidated net profit jumped to Rs 1,929 crore for the quarter ended September 30 from Rs 136 crore a year ago, when Mahindra had
booked a one-time charge at its now bankrupt South Korean unit Ssangyong Motor.The automaker's consolidated revenue from operations rose
nearly 12 per cent to Rs 21,470 crore for the September quarter.
