Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) reported an 18 percent decline in net profit for Q2 FY25, falling to Rs 3,103 crore, missing analysts' estimates by a significant margin. According to a Moneycontrol poll of eight brokerages, the automaker’s net profit for the second quarter was anticipated to be flat at Rs 3,791 crore.

Maruti Suzuki share price fell as much as 6 percent, the steepest in nearly two years. The stock was trading at Rs 10,800 on NSE after the weak earnings report.

The company’s July-September revenue from operations rose marginally by 0.3 percent year-on-year to Rs 37,449 crore, exceeding the poll estimate of Rs 37,128 crore.

India's largest carmaker's latest quarterly net profit was hit by a deferred tax liability of Rs 1,018 crore, which was partially driven by regulatory changes impacting indexation benefits and tax rates on capital gains from debt mutual funds. This impact had previously been announced by the company in August.

However, Maruti Suzuki's results were also muted most likely due to a decline in volumes and demand slowdown, compared to that a year ago.

The weak earnings come amid a challenging domestic market, where volumes fell 3.9 percent to 4.64 lakh units in the quarter ended September 30.. However, export volumes improved, rising 12.1 percent to 77,716 units, showing resilience in international demand.

Profit before tax (PBT) rose by 6.3 percent on-year to Rs 5,100 crore, marking the company’s highest-ever PBT.

In addition, Maruti Suzuki’s board provided an in-principle approval for the amalgamation of Suzuki Motor Gujarat Private Limited (SMG) with MSIL, effective from 1 April 2025, pending regulatory approvals. SMG, which became a 100 percent subsidiary last year, is expected to streamline operations under MSIL’s umbrella.

For the first half of FY25, Maruti Suzuki reported that it sold a total of 10.63 lakh units during the period. This included 9.15 lakh in the domestic market and 1.48 lakh units in the export market.