India's Landmark Cars profit jumps 37% in first earnings since listing

Landmark Cars

13/02/2023 14:06

BENGALURU, Feb 13 (Reuters) -    Indian luxury auto
dealer Landmark Cars  LANM.NS  reported a 37% jump in quarterly
profit in its first earnings report since going public, driven
by the strong demand for premium cars.
    The South Asian country, once a small and low-cost car
market, is seeing a sharp expansion in demand for premium models
with a growing middle class splurging on everything pricey from
branded apparel to luxury cars.
    "The Indian car market is witnessing a radical shift towards
premium brands. The premium cars growth is outshining the
overall growth in the Indian cars industry," Chairman Sanjay
Thakker said in a statement. 
    Consolidated net profit for the three months ended Dec. 31
rose to 259 million rupees ($3.1 million) from 189.3 million
rupees a year earlier.
    The reseller of Mercedes-Benz, Jeep and Volkswagen cars
posted a 4.66% increase in revenue from operations to 8.76
billion rupees. 
    The company also said that its unit Watermark Cars has
entered into an exclusive agreement with Permagard Automotive
USA to scale up its car care business.  
    The auto reseller had filed for a 5.52 billion rupee IPO in
January last year, which was three times oversubscribed, though
the shares skidded on their debut in December.
    Competent Automobiles Company  CPA.BO , which sells budget
Maruti Suzuki  MRTI.NS  cars, reported a marginal profit rise in
the quarter. 
    Ahead of the quarterly earnings, Landmark Cars shares closed
0.10% lower at 646 rupees. The shares are up 39% thus far this
year.
($1 = 82.6850 Indian rupees)
 (Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya
Ann Thoppil)
 ((Hritam.Mukherjee@thomsonreuters.com; +91 9830427878;))