Ceat Q4 results: Net profit falls 18.8% to Rs 109 cr on higher rubber costs

Indian tyremaker Ceat reported a lower fourth-quarter profit on Thursday, hurt by higher rubber costs.Ceat, whose customers include automakers Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra & Mahindra, is the first Indian tyremaker to report results this quarter. Domestic sales of overall vehicles in India rose more than 20% in the fourth quarter and production climbed more than 21%, according to industry data. Prices of rubber, a key raw material for tyre manufacturers, rose roughly 10% in the quarter, according to analysts. Ceat's fourth-quarter consolidated net profit fell 18.8% to 1.09 billion rupees ($13.06 million) from a year earlier. Analysts had expected a profit of 1.64 billion rupees, according to LSEG data.The company's revenue from operations rose 4.1% to 29.92 billion rupees. Ceat's quarterly expenses rose 3.7% to 27.98 billion rupees, led by a 5.5% climb in raw material costs.