Ceat posts over two-fold jump in profit in Oct-Dec

Tyre major Ceat Ltd on Tuesday reported over a two-and-a-half fold jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 132.34 crore in the third quarter ended on December 31, 2020, riding on robust sales. The company had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 52.5 crore in the year-ago period, Ceat Ltd said in a regulatory filing.

Consolidated revenue from operations stood at Rs 2,221.25 crore in the quarter under review as against Rs 1,761.77 crore in the year-ago period, a growth of 26 per cent, it added. Commenting on the company's performance, Ceat Ltd Managing Director Anant Goenka said, "This quarter's growth has been achieved on the back of new capacities across segments, particularly passenger car, two-wheeler and farm segments."

The replacement market has been buoyant because of consumer preference in personal mobility and strong rural demand, he added. Goenka further said, "All our factories are currently operating at high capacity levels and we are confident in maintaining strong growth levels over the next few months. There is expected to be some margin pressure in the next quarter due to increasing raw material prices."

During the quarter, the company's continuous effort to judiciously manage cash helped in bringing down debt by Rs 260 crore and helped in qualitative improvement in the leverage ratios and the company's balance sheet, Ceat Ltd CFO Kumar Subbiah said.