July 31 (Reuters) - Maruti Suzuki posted a lower first-quarter profit on Friday as India's top carmaker by sales was hurt by higher raw material costs.
The Swift manufacturer reported a profit of 33.52 billion rupees ($351.44 million) for the quarter ended June 30 compared to 37.12 billion rupees a year before.
Vehicle sales in India have recovered since New Delhi's tax cuts last September, but the carmaker was unable to fully shield itself from rising raw material costs.
Although the carmaker raised prices during the quarter, higher steel and commodity prices, exacerbated by disruptions linked to the Iran war, continued to pressure margins.
Revenue rose 36% to 524.56 billion rupees, while expenses increased at a faster pace of 40.5% to 499.88 billion rupees, dragged by higher input costs.
($1 = 95.3800 Indian rupees)
Reporting by Kashish Tandon and Saikeerthi in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee
Source: Reuters