Maruti Udyog Ltd posted a 48 per cent rise in net profit for the second quarter ended September 2004 at Rs 184 crore, driven by higher sales.Net sales rose 25 per cent at Rs 2698 crore during the second quarter over Rs 2,157 crore during the corresponding period previous year. Sales of the company grew 19.7 per cent at 129,848 units during the first half of this fiscal.Net profit jumped 45.1 per cent at Rs 354 crore during the first half of this fiscal over Rs 244 crore for the year-ago period.The company’s profit before tax increased to Rs 275.38 crore, from Rs 173.24 crore in the corresponding period in the previous year.Expenditure during the second quarter went up to Rs 2,384 crore from Rs 1,943 crore in the corresponding period in the previous year. The company’s interest burden, however, decreased to Rs 9.47 crore during the period from Rs 10.57 crore.During Q2, its earnings per share increased to Rs 6.35 from Rs 4.29.Maruti’s net sales during April-September 2004 stood at Rs 5,213 crore during the first six months over Rs 4,190 crore during the first half of the previous year.
