Ceat reports Rs 35 crore net profit in Q3, total income increases

Tyre maker Ceat on Wednesday posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 35 crore for the third quarter ended December 2022.

The company had reported a net loss of Rs 20 crore in the October-December quarter of the previous fiscal.

Total income increased to Rs 2,729 crore in the third quarter from Rs 2,416 crore in the year-ago period, Ceat said in a regulatory filing.

"Our margins continue to improve as a result of the cooling commodity prices. Growth is led by domestic demand as we remain cautious about international markets that are getting impacted by recessionary trends," Ceat Managing Director Anant Goenka said.

The company's outlook for the ongoing quarter is positive, he added.

"We have the capacities available to cater to a growing market demand," Goenka said.

Ceat CFO Kumar Subbiah said the company brought down its overall inventories by Rs 280 crore, which helped in bringing efficiencies in operating cash flows and minimising borrowings.

"We intend to maintain our capex for the year at around Rs 900 crore in line with our annual plan. With the correction in commodity costs, the margin outlook is positive for the next quarter," he noted.

For the nine months ended December 31, 2022, the company reported a net profit of Rs 50 crore as against Rs 45 crore in the year-ago period.

Shares of Ceat on Wednesday ended 0.46 per cent down at Rs 1,584.60 apiece on the BSE.