Ceat reports 21% fall in Q1 profit

Tyre maker Ceat on Tuesday reported a 20.91 per cent decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 51.66 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2014-15.

The company had posted net profit of Rs 65.32 crore in the April-June period of the 2013-14 fiscal.

Net sales rose however to Rs 1,453.10 crore during Q1, 2014-15, as against Rs 1,316.91 crore in the year-ago period, Ceat Ltd said in a filing to the BSE.

Ceat Managing Director Anant Goenka said the company has started to see a positive change in passenger and commercial segments, although it is too early to count on gains.

"It was business as usual for us in the first quarter of FY14-15. We successfully managed to lower our debt levels. Our debt/equity currently stands at a healthy 1:1. The impact of this exercise was evident as the interest costs went down by Rs 4 crore," Ceat CFO Subba Rao Amarthaluru said.

Ceat shares closed at Rs 626.45 apiece, down 5.84 per cent, on the BSE from its previous close.