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Informist, Saturday, Apr. 25, 2026

 

By Anand JC

 

MUMBAI – Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. is projected to report healthy year-on-year growth in net profit and revenue for the March quarter, supported by higher domestic and export despatches and improved realisation per vehicle, according to analysts. India's passenger vehicle industry fared well in the reporting period as automakers continued to reap the benefits of the cut in goods and services tax in September, with higher-priced sport utility vehicles outperforming smaller cars, giving companies an additional revenue boost.

 

Maruti Suzuki is expected to report a net profit of INR 41.14 billion for the March quarter, according to an average of estimates from 15 brokerages, up 11% on year. The rise in net profit would be a four-quarter high. The highest estimate for net profit is INR 47.10 billion from Nomura Equity Research and the lowest is INR 32.72 billion from YES Securities (India) Ltd.

 

Maruti Suzuki's financials are expected to get a healthy leg-up from its March quarter despatches. The company despatched 657,100 cars in the quarter, up 13% on year. Domestic sales grew 12% on year to 545,166 units while exports grew 17% to 111,934 units.

 

The company's revenue from operations for the quarter is projected to grow 27% on year to INR 514.98 billion, according to an average of estimates from 15 brokerages. The Swift maker's top-line growth is expected to be a touch slower than 29% recorded in the December quarter but significantly higher than the 6% growth seen in the year-ago quarter. The highest estimate for Maruti Suzuki's March quarter revenue is INR 538.50 billion from Nomura and the lowest is INR 480.92 billion from Nirmal Bang Equities Pvt. Ltd.

 

The Gurugram-based automaker ended the financial year 2025-26 (Apr-Mar) as India's leading passenger vehicle manufacturer with a retail market share of 39.71%, down from 40.20% a year ago. Insufficient production capacity was one of the key constraints faced by the company during the March quarter. Growth in despatches to dealerships was held back by its production capacity, prompting fast-tracking of capacity expansion plans.

 

The company's second plant in Kharkhoda, Haryana, was scheduled to be operational by April and an additional line at its existing plant in Gujarat was expected to be commissioned thereafter. Each of these two units will have the capacity to produce 250,000 vehicles annually. In addition, the board approved the addition of a second greenfield manufacturing plant in Gujarat. The carmaker has a total installed capacity of 2.60 million units per annum across its facilities in Haryana and Gujarat.

 

REALISATIONS

The average realisation per car sold by Maruti Suzuki in the March quarter is expected to have increased between 6% and 16% on year because of higher sales of sport utility vehicles, lower discounts, and the depreciation of the rupee against the dollar, as per analysts. The average cost per Maruti Suzuki car sold in the reporting period is projected at INR 676,200 by Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.

 

This comes despite lower car prices after the GST cut and the lack of price hikes by the company in spite of surging commodity costs. Maruti Suzuki began selling its first electric car, the e Vitara, in the March quarter, which is likely to have given a boost to its top line, HDFC Securities Ltd. said. "SUV volumes remained strong, but small car sales moderated. Improved realisation, exports mix and weaker INR should aid revenue growth of 26% YoY," Prabhudas Lilladher Pvt. Ltd. said.

 

MARGIN VIEW

Maruti Suzuki's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation for the March quarter are projected to rise 42% on year to INR 60.85 billion, according to an average of estimates from 13 brokerages. The highest estimate for the company's EBITDA is INR 65.61 billion from Nuvama Wealth Management Ltd. and the lowest is INR 51.68 billion from Prabhudas Lilladher.

 

Some analysts expect Maruti Suzuki's margin to rise on year for the March quarter despite rising commodity costs. Kotak Securities Ltd. expects the carmaker's margin to be 12.5% for the reporting quarter, up 200 basis points on year, due to operating leverage, lower advertisement costs, and lower expenses. However, Prabhudas Lilladher expects the margin to fall 40 bps on year due to input cost pressures.

 

The company has refrained from raising prices so far to preserve the demand momentum. In recent interactions with the media, however, Maruti Suzuki acknowledged the need to hike prices because of mounting costs. Almost all of its peers have already raised prices at least once in 2026.

 

Maruti Suzuki will disclose its March quarter earnings Tuesday. The market will track the management's views on price hikes, sales of the newly launched e Vitara, and the upcoming launches of its sport utility vehicles.

 

Friday, shares of Maruti Suzuki ended at INR 13,048 on the National Stock Exchange, down 0.9%. The shares are down roughly 13% since the company announced its December quarter earnings on Jan. 28.

 

Of the 14 research reports on the company available with Informist, 12 have a "buy" recommendation on the stock with an average target price of INR 18,348. Two brokerages have a "hold" recommendation on the stock.

 

Following are the Jan-Mar earnings estimates, in INR billion, for Maruti Suzuki from 15 brokerages in descending order of the net profit estimate:

 

Brokerage	Net sales	Net profit	EBITDA
Nomura Equity Research	538.50	47.10	64.60
Anand Rathi Share and Stock Brokers Ltd.	512.01	46.78
SMIFS Ltd.	514.02	44.43	62.00
Kotak Securities Ltd.	517.18	44.37	64.58
Nuvama Wealth Management Ltd.	519.31	44.23	65.61
JM Financial Institutional Securities Pvt. Ltd.	522.07	43.29	63.59
ICICI Securities Ltd.	516.60	42.56	61.96
Elara Securities (India) Pvt. Ltd.	520.40	41.20	61.90
Equirus Securities Pvt. Ltd.	516.78	39.88	56.85
Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.	508.08	39.79	59.97
HDFC Securities Ltd.	509.39	38.84
Emkay Global Financial Services Ltd.	510.18	37.56	59.49
Nirmal Bang Equities Pvt. Ltd.	480.92	37.26	56.88
Prabhudas Lilladher Pvt. Ltd.	511.99	37.06	51.68
YES Securities (India) Ltd.	527.22	32.72	61.96
Average	514.98	41.14	60.85

 

End

 

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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