Results to drive Maruti Suzuki

The stock of Maruti Suzuki may see some buying interest following its Q4 financial performance beating market expectations. Though it reported lower profits at Rs 639.84 crore against Rs 660 crore reported a year ago, the number exceeded the Rs 556-crore median of 43 analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg. For the full year, it reported a 28.55 per cent decline in net profit at Rs 1,635.1 crore, the steepest decline in three years. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 2,288.7 crore in the previous financial year. The company sold 11.34 lakh units during fiscal 2012, down 10.8 per cent from 2010-11. It, however, expects sales to rise by 10-12 per cent during the current fiscal. It may be recalled that Maruti was grappling with labour problems at its Manesar factory in Haryana since June last year, which affected vehicle production.