Mumbai, Feb 06, 2025, IANS

Mumbai, Feb 6 (IANS) Leading tyre manufacturer MRF on Thursday reported a 38 per cent decline in net profit for the December quarter (Q3 FY25), as the firm's net profit stood at Rs 315 crore, compared to Rs 510 crore in the same period last year (Q3 FY24). MRF's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) also dropped 21 per cent to Rs 835 crore in Q3FY25, down from Rs 1,055 crore in the previous year. The company's EBITDA margin also shrank to 11.93 per cent in the December quarter from 17.12 per cent a year ago. Despite the fall in profit, MRF's revenue from operations saw a 14 per cent rise at Rs 7,001 crore in Q3, up from Rs 6,162 crore from the year-ago period. However, the decline in profitability weighed on investor sentiment. The shares of MRF went down 4 per cent at Rs 1,10,374 apiece on the BSE during the intra-day trade. The company also announced a second interim dividend of Rs 3 per equity share for the financial year ending March 31, 2025. “The Board of Directors has declared a Second Interim Dividend of Rs 3 per equity share for the financial year ending 31st March, 2025," MRF said in its stock exchange filing. The record date for this dividend has been set for February 14 and it will be paid on or after February 25. "The Company has fixed Friday, 14th February 2025, as the record date for the purpose of payment of Second Interim Dividend. The Second Interim Dividend declared will be paid on or after Tuesday, 25th February 2025,” the tyre manufacturer added. The cost of materials used by MRF increased by 23.8 per cent to Rs 4,634 crore in the December quarter (Q3). Meanwhile, total vehicle sales in India grew by 3.1 per cent year-on-year during this period, a much slower rise compared to the 19.5 per cent jump seen a year ago. This slower growth in auto sales has impacted tyre manufacturers like MRF, as a large part of their revenue depends on the demand from the automobile sector.